Teddy Riner on his way to making history? The Frenchman has been waiting for the Paris Olympic Games for years. In front of his home crowd, he has the opportunity to add another line to his already impressive list of achievements on Friday, August 2 at the Arena Champs-de-Mars in Paris. At 35, he could be competing in his fifth and final Games, even if he hasn’t written off the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
A fourth Olympic title, synonymous with a record?
Will Teddy Riner manage to become the most successful judoka at the Olympic Games? Before setting foot on the Parisian tatami, he is the only one, along with the Japanese Tadahiro Nomura, to have won three gold medals (two individually in 2012 and 2016 and one team medal in 2021) at the Olympics. In addition to his victories, the Parisian has won two bronze medals at the Games. It was in Beijing in 2008 and in Tokyo in 2021, each time individually.
A revenge after his failure in 2021
His defeat against Tamerlan Bashaev in the quarter-finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was a real bolt from the blue. Double defending champion in the +100 kg category, the Frenchman was surprised by the Russian against all expectations. A little dazed, Teddy Riner still won the bronze medal after his victory against the Japanese Hisayoshi Harasawa. This year, it is another metal that he will go for.
Still undefeated in 2024
The three-time Olympic champion arrives in Paris full of confidence. The Tricolore has participated in five competitions in 2024 and won them all. The most recent was the European Open in Madrid last June. Although it was not part of the top-tier events at the international level, this tournament allowed Teddy Riner to reassure himself and fine-tune his Olympic preparation.