The selection for the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8) of Teddy Riner, in search of a third historic coronation in heavyweight, was formalized by the French Judo Federation (FFJudo) on Tuesday. The reigning double Olympic champion of +100 kg and ten times world champion (eight times in +100 kg, two in all categories) returned to victory in mid-January at the Doha Masters for his return to international competition almost a year later his defeat in Paris - then his first in nearly nine and a half years. His current 16th place in the world rankings does not quite allow him to claim a seeded status in Tokyo, and the potentially more favorable picture that goes with it. For the moment, however, he is not engaged in any competition by the Olympic deadline.
Exit the world number 1 in less than 70 kilos
In the Japanese capital, Riner, 32 recently, aims to become the first heavyweight triple Olympic champion in the history of judo. Only the Japanese Tadahiro Nomura, in lightweight, has so far achieved this feat (1996, 2000 and 2004). With the introduction of the team event to the Olympic program, Riner may even dream of another gold medal. The French management also completed on Tuesday its women's Olympic selection unveiled two weeks ago: in -70 kg, Margaux Pinot, freshly European silver medalist on Saturday and world number 2, was preferred to Marie-Eve Gahié, champion of the world 2019 and world number 1, but surprise entry last weekend. Consolation prize for Gahié: itis she who was selected for the 2021 Worlds unusually organized six weeks before the Olympics, mid-June in Budapest.
Alexandre Iddir preferred to Cyrille Maret
The performance gap between Pinot and Gahié at the recent European Championships in Lisbon "inevitably facilitated" the choice, "it is certain that the world champion and world number 1 who loses in her first round is a thunderclap ”, agreed Larbi Benboudaoud, the director of high performance at the federation, by videoconference. “But we looked at the overall competition, not just this championship,” he recalls. It's a decision that was very hard to take, we are leaving a lot at home ”. Besides Riner, are also part of the lucky ones elected for Tokyo Luka Mkheidze (-60 kg), fresh vice-champion of Europe, Kilian Le Blouch (-66 kg), Guillaume Chaine (-73 kg), Axel Clerget (-90 kg) and Alexandre Iddir (-100 kg), him in European bronze on Sunday, on the men's side. In -81 kg,French judokas are not ranked well enough at this stage to claim an Olympic quota. The qualification race is open until June 28.
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