If Teddy Riner has won everything on many occasions, he misses a title: that of French team champion which he hopes to finally win with PSG Judo on Saturday in Villebon-sur-Yvette (Essonne).
The triple Olympic champion will therefore put on the kimono this weekend, after a two-day cohesion course with PSG where he sent messages to his partners.
“I made a point of telling them that nothing should be let go, explains the judoka to us.
Even if someone gets in our way, we have to go.
We are a group, we are united, we work for each other.
If one fails on Saturday, behind another will do whatever it takes to regain the upper hand.
And this team competition is above all a great adventure to experience together.
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Teddy Riner knows something about it.
Last summer in Tokyo, he had greatly participated in the team Olympic title of the French judo team, in particular by bringing together all the judokas during the lunch break to send messages.
The heavyweight of tricolor judo sometimes rocks in euphoria.
In Tokyo, while the French were celebrating their victory, he had forgotten that he was carrying Clarisse Agbégnénou and had let go of his partner, who had then fallen on the carpet.
Tuesday, during the Parisian training camp, Teddy Riner was, in the middle of a football match... stamped with Romane Dicko.
“They make me a magnificent cross, I who am 2 m high, I go on this ball, I put my head and I hear boom!
he tells us.
I feel a sharp pain on my skull, I turn around and there I see Romane (Dicko),
who, wanting to defend, came up against me…” In the shock, the double Olympic medalist broke a tooth… Without, it seems, managing to avoid the goal.
“The ball had already passed”, assures Teddy Riner, who admits, of course, “sorry” for his club partner.
Romane Dicko and Teddy Riner will defend the colors of PSG on Saturday.
Riner admits to being in good shape, a few days after returning from an internship in Mongolia.
"I want to fight, want to see where I am before my international recovery (Editor's note: July 10 in Budapest), he explains.
It is important to resume, especially in a team competition.
I experienced something magnificent in Tokyo, I love this kind of test.
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