At the 2026 Dushanbe Grand Slam, Djalo’s fortunes took a turn for the better and he finished the day back on a World Judo Tour podium, at last. That length of time without results could disrupt anyone but Djalo’s commitment has never wavered and the medal in Tajikistan is now just another moment in his career, a career defined by philosophy and character, not by results.
“When I was a junior, I had many dreams to take many medals but once I arrived at the senior level I said to myself to be careful. The -81 kg category was big even then and has many champions. I told myself to work hard and maybe I could get medals.
I’m a fighter and I like to train all the time. Sometimes I don’t get the medals even when I work at my best. My mind is strong though and I have goals. I never stop training even if I am not getting results.”
Mindset is massively important in high performance sport and having the right people present to help guide and shape an athlete’s philosophy is critical to their development and longevity. Alpha Djalo is not shy about mentioning those who have impacted his career. Among them is a very familiar name: Waldemar Legien (POL). Alpha’s first club was EPPG Judo but he moved to Racing Club de France and was coached by Legien there, a double Olympic champion, and in two weight categories, no less. Alpha later returned to EPPG but his time with the Polish judo giant was formative, more than significant.
“I changed category in 2015 from -73 kg to -81kg because at 73’s I was losing a lot of weight. I spoke with Waldemar, as my coach, and he said I was strong regardless of weight. He told me this change would be ‘nothing.’ I won a gold medal in a tournament in France at -81 kg and began to change my judo. I’m small in this category but I work, change, develop. Waldemar changed my career and my mind, he believed in me.
I stay here now and for the last decade because I don’t want to have any problems with my body. I’m very happy with this choice, my life is better because of it. At -81 kg, it is always a strong category. It’s possible that if we competed every day, there would be a new champion every time. I understand this and am still happy to stay here.
Three years without a medal is a bad period if looking from the outside but for me it has also been good. This period allowed me to support myself. I look around me and I see no people, no-one looking out for me; I am alone. I still see my close people, my family, my girlfriend, my coach. That is enough, they are enough.”
Djalo says he was asked by many people why he doesn’t stop, with such a long time without results, but he learned a lot and is confident with his choices, “It is my choice to stop when I take that decision, but it won’t be about not taking a medal and it won’t be because someone else thinks I should.
It’s not my first bad period. My first World Judo Tour medal was in Dusseldorf in 2018, The second wasn’t until Zagreb in 2022. I think that sometimes I didn’t win because my appetite for risk was diminished. Now, these days, I decide that even if I lose I will lose in an attacking position. I show that I will always be offensive. It’s part of my character and illustrates my philosophy. My goal is ippon therefore I like to take many risks on the tatami.
I know people see me as dangerous and a good judoka in training, but without many medals. To boil my goals down to medals, I can say that I want one medal at the Europeans, one at a worlds and one at the Olympics. People say I already have the European and team Olympic medals but I didn’t fight for that team medal and it’s important for me to know that I do the work and I earn the medal. That medal is important but for sponsors more than for me; that was not my goal.”
Alpha Djalo has become capable and independent through this challenging career of his. He is committed not to the end game but the ‘DO’ of ‘judo,’ the way. “The journey is often more important than the destination.”
In Dushanbe though, he reminded himself to enjoy the moment, this positive step along his route. “Winning this bronze was an amazing moment. I’m very natural with how I react to things and don’t prepare my celebrations. At the Europeans in 2023, I cried and had big emotions. In Dushanbe I told myself that if I don’t stop, I can win a medal. I enjoyed this bronze fight, I prepared for it mentally because I was against a Tajik athlete in his house. I told myself to enjoy it."
"I’m lucky because this is my job, I get paid to do judo! So many people around the world don’t have the chance to live like this. I travel, meeting amazing people. This is why I was so happy to fight in Dushanbe, with the atmosphere, whether they were cheering for me or not.”
For Alpha Djalo it is more complicated than saying that he is enjoying or not enjoying his career. He is a judoka who strives to meet the expectations of the sport, who persists even when it’s hard. His satisfaction is built on a strong foundation of independence, hard work and the deep understanding that judo is not about medals but about the construction of human character.