Big Teddy’ is back.
Teddy Riner (34), a French judo hero메이저놀이터, won the 2023 World Championships men’s over 100kg championship, increasing his record for the most gold medals he has ever held to 11 (including unrestricted championships).
In the final held on the 13th (local time) in Doha, Qatar, he beat Tasoev (25) from Russia, who competed as an ‘Individual Neutral Athletes’. The IJF (International Judo Federation) bans Russia from participating in international competitions after invading Ukraine. However, in the case of players who do not openly support this war and are not related to the Russian army, the opportunity to play as a ‘neutral player’ is open. However, Ukraine protested and boycotted the event.
The two players couldn’t decide the winner in the 4th minute, so they went into overtime, the golden score method. Riner, who was unable to score even while driving the opponent from start to finish, was turned over by his opponent’s counterattack around the 3rd minute of extra time and his shoulder touched the mat. Tasoyev was delighted with his hands up, and the broadcast commentators were also surprised at the ‘surprise result’. However, the referee denied the goal. Riner, who started a counterattack, took half of the match with a thigh technique in 3 minutes and 39 seconds and became the winner.
Riner has already left a huge footprint in world judo history. Born in French Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, he won his first championship as the youngest (18 years and 5 months old) in the over 100kg World Championships (Rio, Brazil) in 2007, and collected 10 gold medals in the world championships until 2017. At the Olympics, he won two consecutive gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016. From the fall of 2010 to early February 2020, he both ran and wrote a 154-game winning streak in international competition. With a height of 204cm and a weight of 140kg, the power of thigh-stretching, field-legging, and waist-slapping is tremendous. He rarely appeared on the international stage after the 2017 World Championships, and rumors of his retirement circulated, but he returned ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. In Tokyo in 2021, he placed third in the over 100 kg class and failed to win his third consecutive Olympic individual event, but helped France win gold in the mixed team event.
Riner seemed to distance himself from judo again after the Olympics, but returned to the mat last summer. Riner, who became the world champion after seven years, said, “I heard La Marseillaise (the French national anthem) for the first time in a while at the world championship ceremony. It feels good,” he said. “I won mentally. People think it’s easy (for me to win), but it’s hard. “I feel proud that my efforts have been rewarded,” he said. He also revealed his intention to participate in the Paris Olympics to be held in his country next year.