Do not be fooled by the name of the place, Les Abymes, which was born on April 7, 1989, Teddy Riner. The depths, the French judoka has never been around them. Since 2006, the Guadeloupe has been at the top of his sport.
Arrived very young in metropolitan France, in Paris, little Teddy tried his hand at various sports, football, basketball, before falling in love at first sight, at 13 years old. It will be judo.
With his club in the 19th arrondissement in Paris, Riner, who has undeniable predispositions, grows the stages until he is spotted by INSEP, sacred land of sport in France.
Sensational in the young French team, the giant (2.04m for 148kg) does not take long to make a takeover bid on all the competitions and titles that cross his path.
–
The man in good shape … despite a slight hiccup
Between 2008 and 2020, Teddy Riner only bowed three times, for more than 150 victories.
By the way, the Guadeloupe, takes the opportunity to hang some pretty trophies in his window.
A first Olympic medal, in bronze, in Beijing in 2008, ten titles of world champion, five of European champion, then finally the holy grail of Olympism, twice, in London (2012) and Rio (2016) .
Nothing stops “Teddy Winner”.
French Olympism even does him the honor of choosing him to be its flag bearer in Rio. One more similarity with his elder, David Douillet, another great architect of the democratization of judo in France.
With his track record, his sporting supremacy, it is therefore a champion with some guarantees who will appear on the Japanese tatami mats.
However, the licensee of Paris Saint-Germain Judo, has since February 2020, a slight shadow on the board.
With prolonged preparation following the postponement of the Olympic Games, the Frenchman did not arrive in the best possible conditions at the Grand Slam in Paris, where he recorded his first defeat since 2010. Facing the Japanese, Kokoro Kageura, he left behind. mental points even if he declares that it “relieved” him.
–
Objective: to make history
In Tokyo, Teddy Riner will try by all means to obtain a third Olympic title.
If he has already announced that he will continue his career until Paris 2024 – he will then be 35 years old -, the French champion makes a point of honor to achieve this daunting feat in Japan, sacred land of judo: to become the first triple Olympic champion in the premier heavyweight category (over 100kgs).
On their land, the Japanese will try to block the road to Teddy Riner. If his February 2020 striker, Kokoro Kageura, will not be there, his opponent in the 2016 Olympic final, Hisayoshi Harasawa, will be there.
To aim for gold, the Frenchman will also have to be wary of one of his oldest rivals, the Brazilian Rafael Silva, or the Russian Bashaev Tamerlan.
–
