Twice is a habit, three is a tradition. Normal, Teddy Riner feels good in Rio de Janeiro, where he made his career take off with two world titles, in 2007 and 2013, and obviously his second Olympic coronation, in 2016. During the last school holidays, the star judo had taken his wife and children to the Brazilian city, to enjoy the atmosphere, but not only far from it.
For this new carioca course, in the facilities of the Flamengo omnisport club, where L’Equipe followed him, the colossus with 11 world titles was mainly there to take advantage of the national specialty: Brazilian jiujitsu (BJJ), in other words judo on the ground. In order to expand its range, if it was still possible.
“I’m happy with my feelings”
Because at 35, Teddy Riner is already covered in glory but his appetite for titles is still there. He is not afraid to say that this is what drives him forward, driven by an insatiable technical curiosity. And at this level, Franck Chambily has again seen interesting things. “It’s satisfying because we feel the progression in the standing-ground connection, explains his trainer this Monday, in the columns of the daily newspaper. The first year, we were in the discovery of BJJ. The second was the training and this year we are in precision. It will allow Teddy to save time on fights, to be more efficient. It is difficult to integrate because it is very specific but Teddy likes it. And by repeating the exercises, he will be able to place them in competition.”
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Teddy Riner confirms this himself: “We have progressed, in the attacks and defenses that I can find in competition. I am happy with my feelings.” At his level, all the details count, and if he is used to most often finishing his fights standing, he knows that work on the ground remains an asset. Especially since the competition has rarely been so strong among the heavyweights: the Czech Lukas Krpalek won the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, the Cuban Andy Granda emerged at the Worlds in 2022 and he had to share the world title with him. with the Russian Inal Tasoev after coming close to being penalized against him in the final, at the 2023 Worlds.
21st in the Olympic ranking list
In short, the native of Pointe-à-Pitre knows that danger comes from everywhere, and that is why he launched this project among others. Also aware that shortening fights as quickly as possible, without going through endless golden scores, remains an asset. Over the duration of an intense competition like the Olympic Games, getting through the first round without fighting would also be a plus. But now, for now, big Teddy is only 21st in the Olympic ranking list, still far from the top 8 ensuring an exemption to the 1st round, on August 2 at the Champ de Mars.
And even if Franck Chambily assures that “if he is not in the top 8, it does not matter” (the judoka and his coach have not made it an obsession in recent years), and that he is preparing for five golden score fights, Teddy Riner still has the idea of going to take points on the tatami mats, and useful information too. This is why he should make his return to the Grand Slam in Baku, played from February 16 to 18, two weeks after the Grand Slam in Paris which he will skip.
2024-01-08 11:10:00
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