Launched in a preparation regulated like a Swiss clock, Teddy Riner is skipping the Budapest Masters, eager to follow his own path leading to August 2, 2024, D-Day of his ultimate dream, that of a third individual Olympic title. Certainly, Teddy Riner was world champion in May. For the eleventh time in a unique career. But “the real goal for Teddy is the Olympics,” said his trainer Franck Chambily.
And “a guy like Teddy, we can’t expose him as a little youngster every five minutes. So, putting the cover back with the Masters, which is like a 2nd world championship, in its position, we don’t really see the point, ”he continues.
Even if it does not go back to coal in Hungary, the colossus will not have a quiet month of August. He goes through two preparation courses: a technical one in Italy then a physical one in Guadeloupe.
Riner, 34, is currently in Rimini, at the training center of former judoka Darcel Yandzi to “mainly do technique, go see a little bit what is happening there, look for a little more and see what that there are as training partners, explains Chambily. Then, “he will do a big physical internship at the end of August in Guadeloupe”, continues the coach. At the end of this second internship, a decision will be made on the Guadeloupean’s next competition.
In the fall, four options are possible: the Grand Slams in Azerbaijan (September 22-24), Abu Dhabi (October 24-26) and Tokyo (December 2-3), or the European Championships in Montpellier ( November 3-5). “We will choose one, which will certainly be more towards the end of the term”, explains Chambily, while giving an additional hint: “it is true that in a tournament, there are more points to take” for the ranking Olympic compared to the European Championships.
According to Baptiste Leroy, coach of the French men’s team but not directly involved in the judoka agenda, Riner “left a lot of energy at the Worlds and needed to breathe a lot more than he thought”. “So it shifts, because he will resume in October or November, on Grand Slams”, he continues, even if his presence in Montpellier has not yet been ruled out.
Obtaining points during these competitions will aim to arrive in Paris in the eight best in the world and therefore with the top seeded kimono.
“In Tokyo, he was not seeded, and we saw that when we are not, we can take the best in the first round,” laments Chambily. “To be Olympic champion, you have to beat everyone, but it’s still an advantage.”
On the accounting level, Baptiste Leroy underlines that the Masters “counts double” compared to a Grand Slam (gold at the Masters brings in 1800 points against 1000 during a Grand Slam, and 700 at the European Championships). “Mathematically he will need one more competition (…). But he has the ability.”
His world victory gave him “confidence”, but Riner “is not crazy”, notes Chambily: “he saw clearly that he had won in difficulty”. He also had to share his world gold a posteriori with the Russian Inal Tasoev, fighting under a neutral flag, after a refereeing error which should have cost the victory to the Frenchman.
“There are elements of efficiency on which we should not drag and he is aware of it, that’s why we go on this kind of internship in Italy, rather than starting again on a mental dose”, underlines his coach. “The mind, it will really need it on D-Day”.
Technical improvements, “it takes time and there time plays against us a little, even if we still have them”. “Teddy is a Formula 1”, so you have to be “finer in the setting”, explains Chambily before concluding: “on August 2, 2024, all the elements of performance, physical, technical, mental , psychological, are at the top level. And that is perhaps the hardest thing to do.