Anne-Caroline Graffe, originally from Polynesia, won the silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Initially not selected by the National Taekwondo Federation, she was unlikely to participate. However, she shone on the Olympic stage, offering Polynesia its first Olympic medal. More recently, this former taekwondo champion was appointed to the Paris 2024 board.
The Polynesian ANNE-CAROLINE GRAFFE won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London
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With her silver Olympic medal around her neck, Anne-Caroline Graffe sends out her bouquet of flowers to the public. It lands directly in the hands of his mother Haamoura. She walks towards the exit and gracefully begins some tamouré movements, the Tahitian dance. “Anne-Caro” offers Polynesia the first Olympic medal in its history for its first participation in the Games.
She qualified for the final by winning against Cuban Glenhis Hernandez. She won by a score of 6 to 4, thanks in particular to a return kick that reached her opponent’s face.
At the end of the evening, after 11pm, she appeared on the carpet at the ExCeL London conference centre. She meets Serbian Milica Mandic in the +67 kg category. His opponent dominates the start of the fight and lands a blow to the head. Anne Caroline recovers and equalizes 6-6. The young woman gives her maximum. But she is surprised. The Serbian leads 8-7, the coach of the French team asks for the video. There are 30 seconds left.
At the end of a very close match and unbearable tension, the young Tahitian lost (9-7). She fails in her pursuit of Olympic gold. The disappointment is enormous.
The Tahitian was initially not selected for the London Games in January 2012. She had to attend the competition as a simple spectator a few weeks earlier. On June 13, the leader of the category in France and world number 1, Gwladys Epangue, announced her withdrawal from the London Olympics. The Olympic bronze medalist (2008) and double world champion is out due to a medical injury. Anne-Caroline replaces Gwladys at short notice.
2011 world champion over 73 kg, Anne-Caro dreamed of gold. “I also had to go for gold for Gwladys. This medal is also somewhat his“.
At the age of 11, Anne-Caroline wants to follow in the footsteps of her brother and cousins. She steps on a Taekwondo mat for the first time from the Manu Ura Club in Paea. In 2002, she was crowned French junior champion. A year later, the teenager leaves her fenua to make her dreams come true. She takes the direction of the hexagon. His father Alexis, a former boxer, attributes his departure from Tahiti to Jacques Chirac: “When Jacques Chirac came to Tahiti in 2003, he invited the athletes to eat. She asked him for advice, because she wanted to go to mainland France, but she didn’t know how to do it.. A month later, she received a phone call from Insep, who paid for the ticket, accommodation, food and training! All this by order of Jacques Chirac. The teenager started at the France center in Aix-en-Provence but, discouraged by the amount of training, moved away from the tatami mats.
Two seasons later, motivated as ever, the native of Papete returns stronger. She trains at Insep under the leadership of Myriam Baverel, silver medalist in 2004 at the Olympics in Athens. In her first year, she won the national title. For five years she monopolized the titles as champion in France. She won European medals, bronze in 2008 and silver in 2010. She then won world and European crowns before Olympic silver. At the World Championships, she won her match in South Korea, the birthplace of taekwondo, against a Korean.
In 2013, she won the bronze medal in the World Championships in Mexico.
For two seasons, Anne-Caroline Graffe has been national coach. On March 26, the former world champion joined the Paris 2024 board as a qualified sports personality.
Anne-Caroline tells us how her silver medal at the London Olympic Games changed her life.
The Polynesian ANNE-CAROLINE GRAFFE won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London
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