David Douillet

David Donald Hubert Roger Douillet (French pronunciation: [david dɔnald ybɛʁ ʁɔʒe dujɛ]; born 17 February 1969 in Rouen) is a French politician and retired judoka.

Douillet won two consecutive gold medals at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and Sydney competing in the heavyweight division. He is also a four-time judo world champion and one-time European champion. These achievements make him one of the most decorated judoka in history. After his sporting career, he was involved alongside Bernadette Chirac in the charity Opération Pièces Jaunes. He also became a consulting sportsman for Canal+. He was elected deputy to the French National Assembly on 18 October 2009 and on 26 September 2011 became the new Sports Minister until May 2012.

Sporting career

Early career

David Douillet began judo at age 11, in the commune of Neufchâtel-en-Bray, near his birthplace of Rouen. Having exceptional physical size for someone his age (1,80 m and 80 kg), he was instructed by Jacques Lemaître who taught him the rudiments of the sport. Quickly becoming attracted to the Japanese martial art, he distinguished himself on the tatamis, and thanks to his good academic results, integrated the study of the sport at the school Victor et Hélène Basch, near the University of Rennes. In 1986, when Douillet was 17, he was noticed during a demonstration by Jean-Luc Rougé who brought him into the INSEP.

He was already heads above the others, and after what was seen on the mat, I immediately reserved a place for him; at INSEP, the center of the elite of the French athletics.