Shortly after Clarisse Agbegnenou began a course in coaching at HEC Paris, in October last year, the second Covid-19 lockdown threw her into the world of online executive education. The French judo champion is used to tests of endurance, but soon found herself suffering “Zoom fatigue” on the endless video calls. “It’s hard to focus for long — I get restless,” she says.
Agbegnenou, who competes in the 63kg weight class, has won four judo world titles, a clutch of European championships and an Olympic silver medal. While she believes in-person meetings can allow richer interactions that are hard to replicate online, she does admit that technology lowered travel costs and made learning more convenient.
“I did not want to leave campus, but I was happy that we could keep learning despite a global pandemic,” she says.