French Judoka Teddy Riner Makes History with Four Olympic Gold Medals

Local champion Teddy Riner achieved a significant milestone today, Friday, by winning the gold medal in the +100 kg category at the Paris 2024 Olympics, becoming the first to win three golds in heavyweight judo. Three years after his defeat in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics by Brazilian Rafael Silva, where he settled for bronze, the 35-year-old, who lit the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony alongside former sprinter Marie-Josée Pérec, reclaimed his spot on the Olympic throne by defeating South Korean Minjeong Kim, who took silver. The bronze medals were awarded to Uzbek Alisher Yusupov and Tajik Timur Rahimov. Riner has now increased his Olympic gold medal count to four (London 2012 and Rio 2016 in singles, and Tokyo 2021 in the mixed teams), along with two bronze medals from Beijing 2008 and Tokyo. He joins Japanese judoka Tadahiro Nomura, who achieved this historic feat in the lightweight category (1996, 2000, 2004), but Riner is now the only one to accomplish it in the heavyweight division (+100 kg).