Teddy Pierre-Marie Riner (, ; born 7 April 1989) is a French

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. He has won ten World Championships gold medals, the first and only judoka (male or female) to do so, and three Olympic gold medals (two individual, one team). He has also won five gold medals at the European Championships. He was a member of the Levallois Sporting Club before joining

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

in August 2017.

Personal life

Riner was born on 7 April 1989 in Les Abymes near Pointe-à-Pitre, in

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

, an insular

region of France France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collec ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. He was raised in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He was enrolled at a local sports club by his parents and played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, tennis and basketball, but says he preferred judo "because it is an individual sport and it's me, only me." He is tall and weighs . He is nicknamed "Teddy Bear", or "Big Ted".

Judo career

Riner was a member of the

Levallois Sporting Club The Levallois Sporting Club is a multi-sport athletic club located in Levallois-Perret, France. Founded in 1983, it is now organised into 32 sports and counts 14,500 members. It is one of the most important sports club in France and one that links ...

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...

, France and is coached by Christian Chaumont and Benoît Campargue. He won the World and European junior titles in 2006. In 2007, he won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

European Judo Championships The European Judo Championships is the Judo European Championship organized by the European Judo Union. The 2015 and 2019 editions were held during the respective European Games. This is also expected for future editions of the European Games. ...

in Belgrade, Serbia, on the day after his eighteenth birthday. At the 2007 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he became the youngest ever senior world champion when he won the heavyweight (+100 kg) event, defeating the 2000 Olympic gold medallist, Kosei Inoue of Japan, in the semi-final. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, China, Riner competed in the men's heavyweight event. He received a bye into the second round of the competition before beating

Anis Chedli Anis Chedly ( ar, انيس الشاذلي; born 19 February 1981) is a Tunisian judoka who competed in the super heavyweight division (+100 kg) and open class. He is also a six-time African, and two-time World Cup champion in the same cate ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Yeldos Ikhsangaliyev Yeldos Ikhsangaliyev (born 8 July 1978) is a Kazakh judoka. He won a bronze medal in the Men's +100 kg Category at the 2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest ...

to advance to the semi-finals. In the semis he was beaten by Uzbek judoka

Abdullo Tangriev Abdullo Tangriev (born 28 March 1981) is an Uzbek judoka. He won a silver medal in the +100 kg category of the 2008 Olympic Games. Early life Abdullo Tangriev was born on 28 March 1981, in Surxondaryo Region. He was engaged with judo ...

on the golden score, meaning Riner had to enter the

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

rounds. In the repechage he defeated Andreas Tölzer and

João Schlittler João Gabriel Schlittler (born 10 February 1985 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian judoka, who played for the heavyweight category. In 2007, he won a silver medal for his designated category at the Pan American Games, and bronze at the World Ch ...

to reach a bronze medal final against

Lasha Gujejiani Lasha Gujejiani (Georgian:ლაშა გუჯეჯიანი)(born August 12, 1985) is a Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian e ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

; Riner took the bronze medal by a score of one

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the four ...

, one yuko and one koka to nil. In December 2008 he won his second World Championship gold medal at the Open weight Championships held in

, France, by beating

Alexander Mikhaylin Alexander Mikhaylin (born 18 August 1979) is a Russian judoka. He is a silver medalist in heavyweight at the 2012 Olympics in London, as well as multiple world champion. Achievements References External links * * * * * Videos of Ale ...

of Russia in the final. Riner won his third world title at the 2009 World Championships in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He won bouts against Daniel McCormick, Vladimirs Osnachs, Ivan Iliev and

Martin Padar Martin Padar (born 11 April 1979 in Tallinn) is an Estonian judoka, who has competed in the men's half heavyweight (-100 kg), but now competes in the heavyweight (+100 kg) category. A former European champion, he has also competed at ...

in the pool stage before beating

Marius Paškevičius Marius Paškevičius (born 31 October 1979) is a Lithuanian judoka. Achievements He achieved semi-finals in the heavyweight division at the 2015 European Judo Championships, which coincided with the 2015 European Games, losing to the eventual ...

in the semi-finals and Oscar Bryson in the final to take the gold medal. In 2010, he won two medals, a gold and a silver, at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Tokyo. After winning the +100 competition Riner was defeated by

Daiki Kamikawa is a Japanese judoka. He won the gold medal in the openweight division at the 2010 World Judo Championships by defeating Teddy Riner of France by a flags decision. Kamikawa is known for being a very technical judoka for a heavy weight and uses ...

of Japan in the final of open weight class by a 2–1 judge's decision. After the bout, Riner refused to bow or to shake Kamikawa's hand, claiming that he "was robbed". Teddy Riner JO 2012

Riner won his second European gold medal at the 2011 Championships in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey. He defeated Nodor Metreveli, Emil Tahirov and Zohar Asaf to win Pool A of the +100 kg competition before defeating Estonian

in the semi-finals and

Barna Bor } Barna Bor (born 12 December 1986) is a retired Hungarian judoka. He competed at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he lost in the last 32 to Islam El Shehaby. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he beat Luuk Verbij ...

of Hungary in the final to win the title. At the 2011 World Judo Championships in Paris Riner won the gold medal in men's +100 kg division, beating Germany's Tölzer in the final. The result meant that Riner became the first ever male Judoka to win five world titles. He won his sixth World Championship gold medal as part of the French side that won the team event. Riner was selected to compete for

France at the 2012 Summer Olympics France at the Olympics, France competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, between 27 July and 12 August 2012. French athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era. The French Olympic Committee sent a total of 330 ath ...

in London, England in the men's heavyweight event. The event took place at ExCeL London on 3 August. Riner won the gold medal by defeating Russia's

in the final. At the 2016 Olympics, he defended his Olympics heavyweight title, defeating

Hisayoshi Harasawa is a Japanese judoka. Harasawa was considered a staple of Japanese heavyweight judo throughout the 2010s decade. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men's +100 kg. where he won the silver medal on the final again ...

in the final. In his career, Riner was only defeated nine times in elite international championships. He lost to Brayson and Tölzer in 2006, to Bianchessi and Rybak in 2007 and to Muneta and Grim Vuijsters in 2008. He lost to Abdullo Tangriev in the third round of the 2008 Summer Olympics, before obtaining the bronze medal, and on 13 September 2010 he lost the openweight title at the 2010 World Judo Championships in Tokyo to

, his last defeat before a series of 154 victories. After almost 10 years, he lost in the third round of the Paris Grand Slam against world number 2

Kokoro Kageura is a Japanese judoka. He won a medal at the 2019 World Judo Championships. He won the 2021 World Judo Championships in the heavyweight division. In 2017, he won the gold medal in the men's +100 kg event at the Summer Universiade held in ...

. In 2021, he won the gold medal in his event at the 2021 Judo World Masters held in Doha, Qatar. At the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, Riner achieved a bronze medal in the over 100-kilogram class following a defeat by

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

judoka

Tamerlan Bashaev Tamerlan Tausovich Bashaev ( rus, Тамерлан Таусович Башаев, , təmʲɪrˈɫan bɐˈʂa(ɪ̯)ɪf; born 22 April 1996) is a Russian judoka. In 2021, he won one of the bronze medals in the men's +100 kg event at the 2020 Sum ...

. He also won the gold medal in the mixed team event.

Awards

*2016 Officier de l'ordre national du Mérite *2011 RTL Champion of Champions – This annual sports award was inaugurated in 2008 and is awarded by RTL, a French commercial radio network. The previous winners were

Alain Bernard Alain Bernard (; born 1 May 1983) is a former French swimmer from Aubagne, Bouches-du-Rhône. Bernard won a total of four medals (two golds, one silver, and one bronze) at two Olympic Games (2008 and 2012). He also won numerous medals at the W ...

(2008),

Sébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rallying, rally, auto racing, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nin ...

(2009) and Christophe Lemaitre (2010). *2012 L'Équipe Champion of Champions (France male category) *2013

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riner, Teddy 1989 births Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite French male judoka French people of Guadeloupean descent Guadeloupean male judoka Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic judoka of France Olympic gold medalists for France Olympic medalists in judo World judo champions Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics European champions for France Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games People from Les Abymes Black French sportspeople Mediterranean Games medalists in judo Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics