France wins mixed judo team gold

Paris. France staged a spectacular comeback on Saturday with another success from the legendary Teddy Riner, beating Japan 4-3 to claim the mixed team judo title at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Japanese were on the verge of climbing to the top of the podium by taking a 3-1 lead in the duel, but the hosts dashed their dreams in incredible fashion, with Riner in hero mode.

Sanshiro Murao (90 kg) and Rika Takayama (over 70 kg) won their respective bouts and took a 2-0 lead in the fight held at the Champ de Mars Arena.

All seemed lost for the Europeans, who celebrated Riner’s (over 90 kg) victory over Tatsurupara Saito, as if it were the confirmation of the giant’s power and not the beginning of the French reaction.

They were not without reason for their pessimism, judoka Natsumi Tsunoda (57 kg) made it 3-1 with her victory over Sarah-Léonie Cysique, before the star Hifumi Abe (73 kg), individual Olympic champion in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, fought.

However, Abe, whose ideal weight is 66 kilograms, fell to local Joan-Benjamin Gaba and, shortly afterwards, Clarisse Agbegnenou (70 kg) tied the fight for France after beating Miku Takaichi.

In the mixed team tournament, the match that will decide the duel is determined by drawing lots if there is no decision after the matches in the 57, 70 and over 70 kilograms categories for women, and 73, 90 and over 90 kilograms categories for men.

And chance forced Riner’s second appearance, which ensured France’s unimaginable triumph.

The French mixed team also beat Japan at Tokyo 2020, a competition in which Germany and Israel won bronze medals.

This time, the two third-place finishes were decided 4-3, with Brazil beating Italy and South Korea beating Germany.