Paris 2024: Marie Branser, the Guinean who fought for DR Congo at Tokyo 2020

Born in Leipzig to German parents, having represented DR Congo at the Tokyo Olympics and now representing Guinea at Paris 2024, Marie Branser has a sporting career that looks like an Erasmus exchange. At 31, the judoka is competing at her 2nd consecutive Olympic Games, but under two different flags. The situation has drawn criticism from many Congolese in particular, as the athletes paraded during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Many cannot understand how the athlete was able to change nationality and turn her back on DR Congo to represent Guinea. Her choice has been labelled "opportunistic ", driven solely by a desire to take part in the Games by whatever means. Yet in May 2022, in an interview with RFI, Marie Branser sounded the alarm and explained her situation with the Congolese judo federation, notably the fact that she was receiving no support and had not been entered in competitions to try to qualify for the Games. Eight months after Tokyo 2020, she had not been entered in a single competition by her governing federation. That situation did not change despite appeals from the Congolese Olympic Committee and the former sports minister.

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"If I have to change nationality, I will"

"I train twice a day for the African Championships. I also want to win a medal in Paris. But I need someone to enter me in competitions and handle the logistics and the payment ", the judoka explained. "At the end of March, I was in DR Congo. But nothing has moved since. I don't want to wait any longer and if I have to change nationality, I will."

She has clearly been as good as her word, even if she justifies herself: "I'm not doing this for the money, but I can't carry on without money. If DR Congo doesn't want to continue with me, I can understand that. But I need answers. I want to fight for DR Congo, but if nothing moves, I'll have to find another solution."

Bringing an Olympic medal to Guinea

The solution therefore turned out to be Guinea, with a fast-track naturalisation despite a glaring lack of ties to the country. Marie Branser managed to change her sporting nationality and have her request approved with the help of the Guinean authorities, and the Congolese ones too. In practice, she should not have been able to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She benefited from a scenario provided for in the International Judo Federation's rules, which state: "If a fighter has several nationalities, he or she may only fight for one country. If a fighter changes nationality, he or she may not take part in the Olympic Games or the World Championships for a period of 3 years. If the two countries concerned agree, they may ask the International Federation to shorten this period."

Read also: African Games 2023: Marie Susanne Branser gives Guinea its first medal

It is thanks to an agreement between DR Congo and Guinea that the period was shortened and Marie Branser can therefore compete at Paris 2024. Now African champion after winning gold at the African Games with Guinea, she hopes to bring the country its first Olympic medal in the -78kg category. She begins her campaign on the morning of Thursday 1 August against New Zealand's Moira de Villiers, and knows she is already expected to deliver.