Judo. “Today I’m scared” confesses Teddy Riner

Small sentence, big noise… A few days before the Grand Slam of Paris – the biggest world judo tournament which will be played on Saturday February 4 and Sunday February 5 at the AccorArena in Bercy –, the monster (2m04-139kg) Teddy Riner has acknowledged his apprehension during a press briefing.

About last week ?????‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/b35rZRC7uR

— Teddy Riner (@teddyriner) January 25, 2023

“The truth is that when I get on a mat, I’m scared. In Kazakhstan (preparation course from January 10 to 19), I was very scared of hurting myself because you had to see the jigs in front!” explained the four-time Olympic medalist and ten-time world champion. Who, at the age of 33, is clearly aiming for the 2024 Olympics in the French capital and a third gold charm in the queen category over 100 kilos. “If there is one event that we can’t miss, it’s these Olympic Games at home, so I’m careful. All the staff are focused on it. Yes, continues the giant in a kimono, I have want to succeed at home, I don’t want to screw up.”

Remember 2020…

We remember that as the last Olympic Games in Tokyo in Japan approached in the summer of 2020, the colossus tore a ligament in his right knee in February. An injury that had remained hidden and had not prevented him from collecting two medals (an individual in bronze, a mixed team in gold). However, “TR” no longer wants to repeat the unfortunate experience, especially three and a half months from a first well-identified objective which are the Worlds in Doha, Qatar (May 7 to 15).

“It’s never easy to come back from an injury; time is always running out”, concludes warning Teddy Riner, who will participate “hyper-excited in front of my family, my friends and my public” this weekend at the 9^e Grand Slam of his career. And that is not cinema, or rather, TV!