JUDOKA Francis Labrosse was to leave the country on Thursday November 21,  for the Institut  international des Sports et Education Physique (l'INSEP) in Paris, France, where he is to follow an Olympic Solidarity-sponsored scholarship in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

On Wednesday November 20, the 23-year-old was presented with a Commonwealth Federation Certificate for his good display at the 2002 Commonwealth Games which were held in Manchester, England.

Mr Antonio Gopal, president of the Seychelles National Olympic Committee (SNOC),  presented Labrosse with his certificate during a small ceremony which took place at the SNOC headquarters at Stad Linite, Roche Caïman, in the presence of Mr Allen de Létourdie, chairman of the Seychelles Judo Association.

Labrosse, who in 2000 benefited from a similar Olympic Solidarity-sponsored scholarship in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, told Sports Nation that he was very happy to receive the certificate which showed the devotion, love and hard work which he had put in over the years.

Asked whether he was ready to face the challenge ahead of him, Labrosse replied:

“Of course I am ready. Once at l'INSEP I will give my best in training because my aim is to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games.

The judoka, who was invited to participate in the 2000 edition of the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, had words of thanks for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), SNOC and the National Sports Council.

As for SJA chairman De Létourdie, he took the opportunity to congratulate Labrosse for his achievement and wished him good luck.

“Francis went through a lot of difficulties in Ivory Coast and I hope this time things will be better for him. I am convinced that once in France he will do his very best to make his country proud," he said.

 It is to be noted that at the Commonwealth Games, Labrosse won his -60-kg category preliminary round bout against Ghanaian Amoakoon but then lost to Canadian D. G. Simard in the quarterfinal. In the repechage round, he defeated N. Keneke before losing to Cameroonian J. C. Cameroun, thus missing out on a place in the final for the bronze medal.

Englishman C. Fallon won the gold medal of the -60-kg category following his victory over Indian A. Shah in the final.

As well as judoka Labrosse, five other local sportsmen and women – Lindy Leveaux, Evans Marie (athletics), Jean-Paul Mellie (boxing), Kenny Roberts (swimming) and Allan Julie (sailing) – were awarded International Olympic Solidarity-sponsored scholarships last October.

Unlike Labrosse, the five athletes have been granted home option training, meaning that they will train here until SNOC and their federations find an appropriate training venue to post them to.

All six athletes have signed a two-year contract with the IOC. The contract states that the athletes must participate in all Olympic qualifying competitions and a detailed report of their performances must be sent to the international Olympic body every three months.