In his quest for a fabulous Olympic hat-trick in the heavyweight category, Teddy Riner once again made his mark by winning the Antalya Grand Slam this Sunday, four months before the big Paris meeting. Not necessarily spectacular but always methodical, Riner suffered in the final against the Japanese Tatsuru Saito, twice penalized, but ended up scoring a point (waza-ari) to win in regulation time. In five fights, it has not gone to overtime.
The 34-year-old Guadeloupean returned to competition after his record eighth coronation at the Paris Grand Slam in early February, for a new stage of preparation towards the Olympic goal on August 2 at the Arena Champ-de-Mars. After the fervor of Bercy, filled in February with thousands of spectators won over to its champion, it was almost in the indifference of the local public that he continued his march forward.
A seeded status
A week before his 35th birthday, Riner took advantage of his aura against opponents who were always impressed, sometimes paralyzed by his incomparable stature and record. Under the eyes of his family, recharging his batteries between fights with his daughter in his arms in the warm-up room, Riner also gained valuable points in the Olympic rankings in Turkey.
He temporarily climbs among the eight seeds, a status which normally allows him to avoid a preliminary round at the Olympics and to have a clearer draw in the first fights. Since his defeat against Russian Tamerlan Bashaev in the quarter-final of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Riner has not lost: he won the Grand Slams in Budapest in 2022, Paris in 2023 and 2024 and therefore Antalya. Without forgetting his world title.