The Rolls-Royce makes its way at high speed through the chaotic traffic of Marrakech. The voice of Seal, British soul star, rings out from inside the vehicle, a modern-day black Rolls with an SUV look, far from the distinguished Silver Shadows of yesteryear. It is noon. At the wheel, judoka Teddy Riner appears agile, skillful, and not disturbed by the local highway code. “I am a trickster, he smiled as he drove. And I like nice cars. » In the evening, for the third photo session of the day, this time in a palm grove located to the north of the city, he will arrive at full speed, via a rutted road, at the wheel of a Maserati coupe. It’s difficult to understand how he was able to fit his 2.04 meters and almost 140 kilos inside.
On August 2, in the ephemeral Grand Palais designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Teddy Riner will take the stage for, perhaps, the most important moment of his life: the Paris 2024 Olympic tournament in his category, the most 100 kilos. Five times medalist at the Olympics (including individual gold in London, in 2012, then in Rio, in 2016, and mixed teams in Tokyo, in 2021), eleven times world champion, the judoka will aim, at 35, which could constitute the pinnacle of a life devoted to this sport: gold in Paris, individually and in teams. To say that he thinks about it constantly is obvious. “I train twice a day, every day, he confides behind the wheel. A session of around two hours devoted to the judo technique itself, another to bodybuilding. I need it to be at my best for the Games, there is no choice. So I grit my teeth and my ass and move forward. »
Earlier in the morning, in the small entrance hall of the Moroccan club where the star trains, Flam (two sites in Marrakech and nearly six hundred members), Hicham El-Assoudi, president of the regional judo league , explains that he has known the Frenchman since he was 18. He met him when he became world champion for the first time, in 2007. One day, both were invited to the French embassy in Rabat. “He cut the evening short to go jogging! He is an exemplary boy in the way he has led his career. Someone with a moral code, who knows how to be self-critical, shows humility and a great sense of humor. On tatami, he knows how to do things that normally guys of his size cannot do. »
Morocco lovers
It is therefore in Marrakech that the athlete to whom all eyes will turn this summer is training in mid-May. Sheltered from the curious and the press (with the exception of a few rare television interviews). To the point that specialized journalists complained about his attitude to the French Judo Federation (FFJ). The judoka sometimes returns to France or flies to countries where he can train against « gros », as they say, adversaries in his category. He then went to Japan, Brazil or Kazakhstan.
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2024-05-31 05:15:01
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