Frenchman Teddy Riner will take part in the prestigious Grand Prix in Paris on February 4, the French Judo Federation announced six months before the Olympic Games, AFP informs.

Teddy Riner returns to singles competition

A three-time Olympic judo champion and reigning champion at the tournament in the French capital, Riner has not competed in an individual event since last May’s world championships in Doha, where he won his record eleventh title.

Absent from the first list published by the Federation, he will finally be present in Paris with a significant French contingent, which already included multiple world champion Clarisse Agbengnu, Romane Diko, bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and Olympic runner-up Sara-Leone Sisic.

After the 2021 Olympic Games, where he climbed to the third step of the podium, Teddy Riner participated in several tournaments. In fact, he has only competed in three singles events and won them all: the Grand Slam in Budapest in 2022, the Grand Slam in Paris in 2023 and last year’s World Championships.

Expected in Abu Dhabi at the end of October, the Frenchman was forced to withdraw due to an insufficiently healed knee injury. He then returned to the mats with his Paris Saint-Germain teammates in the Champions League group stage in early December. In Zagreb, he recorded three victories in as many fights.

Teddy Riner’s participation in the Grand Slam tournament in Paris involves the withdrawal of Frenchman Matteo Akian Mongo from the heavy category, the Federation said.

The most successful judoka in the history of the sport, Teddy Riner, will turn 35 during the 2024 Olympic Games. In Paris, he aims for his third individual Olympic title in the +100 kg category, an achievement previously achieved only in the lightweight category. , by the Japanese Tadahiro Nomura (1996, 2000 and 2004), writes Agerpres.