Four months before Paris 2024, the French judoka confirmed his title at the Paris tournament at the beginning of February, with a new gold medal on Sunday. For her part, Madeleine Malonga struck a big blow in her distance duel with Audrey Tcheuméo for the Games.
:quality(50)/2023/07/23/64bcfa33e5011_gabriel-rond.png)
Published
Reading time: 2 min
:quality(50)/2024/03/31/design-sans-titre-3-6609941575287398041632.jpg)
All the lights are green for Teddy Riner. The Frenchman won the Antalya Grand Slam on Sunday March 31 in the +100 kg premier category. Four months before Paris 2024, he got rid of the Japanese Tatsuru Saito, 22, in the final thanks to a waza-ari, even though he had already received two warnings. His last defeat still dates back to the quarter-final of the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Without shining throughout the day, the French judoka nevertheless doubled the stakes after his title at the Grand Slam in Paris in February and reassured himself before seeking a third individual title at the Olympics. With this victory, he temporarily established himself among the eight seeds for the Olympic tournament. A status that would allow him to avoid a first round this summer, as well as tough opponents in the table. An important advantage for those who will celebrate their 35th birthday on April 7.
A perhaps decisive success Madeleine Malonga
For her part, Madeleine Malonga struck a big blow in her long-distance duel with Audrey Tcheuméo for the selection at Paris 2024. While France can only field one of the two fighters in the -78 kg category, the vice-champion Tokyo Olympics won gold in Turkey by dominating the German Alina Bohm in the final. After 1’42” of fighting, she sent her opponent to the mat with an ippon.
A major success because Audrey Tcheuméo did not manage to do better than a fifth place at the Grand Slam in Tbilisi (Georgia) last week, losing against Bohm in the match for bronze. Despite a 13th place in the world rankings before this tournament (Tcheuméo is 5th), the advantage in favor of the judokate from Blanc-Mesnil seems clear. Especially since she had beaten her French rival at the Grand Slam in Paris. The Federation committee must meet next week before formalizing its choice.
To note that Julia Tolofua also won among the heavyweights. A revenge for her, after seeing Romane Dicko take her place for the Games. With three titles, France finished second in the tournament behind Japan.
