Teddy Riner
A unique journey
Birth
1989
Born: April 7, 1989
To: Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe)
Nationality: French
Its size
2 M 12
Weight: 145kg | Wingspan: 2m12 | Strong hand: Right
11 times world champion
5 Olympic Medals
Sport: Judo | Rank: 6th dan black belt | Category: +100kg | Favorite holds: Uchi mata, O soto gari, Harai goshi | Club: Paris Saint Germain Judo
Teddy Riner
Excellence as a goal
Teddy Riner was born on April 7, 1989 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. He discovered sports in the south of the capital, at Aquaboulevard (Paris 15th), where his parents enrolled him at the age of 5 in the multi-sports club. Brimming with energy, Teddy tried his hand at almost all sports: climbing, golf, tennis, swimming… But, very quickly, he turned to judo and football.
At the age of 6, he was licensed in both disciplines, at Paris Judo and Levallois respectively. "He was very gifted in both," remembers his father, Moïse. In football, in particular, he played defender but ended the season as the top scorer on his team." Teddy finally opted for judo. "I already had very good results," he admits. At Paris Judo and then at the Judo Club Bolivar, he was trained by Alain Perriot.
At 14, he joined the Rouen youth center. He only stayed there for one year, during which he trained with Dominique Paolozzi. The following year, he returned to the capital to join the French team at Insep. Teddy was then an intern. He did most of his training with Benoît Campargue, one of the national coaches, but without ever really straying far from Serge Dyot, his coach since adolescence.
One year, during a session, the coach offered his own black belt to his young judoka, who had forgotten his. "I then used it for a fight," Teddy remembers. "It brought me luck. I found that it suited me better than it did him. Since then, I have not abandoned it. I wear it to all my competitions. It is my favorite belt."
Don't miss out
Easter holidays 2025
The Teddy Riner 2025 academic immersion program aims to prepare the next generation of judokas and judokas for future sporting challenges. Teddy Riner's personal challenge is to contribute to the effective support of the torchbearers of tomorrow's France.
ATTENTION
300 places are available per academic zone
On a tatami, Teddy admits to “never underestimating an opponent, even the most modest.” A state of mind that he has carefully maintained since childhood, since the day when, facing his brother Moïse Dimitri, 2 years older than him, he lost the fight in less than 20 seconds. “I was superior to him,” Teddy remembers. “By beating him, I had the opportunity to show the parents who was the strongest. But I was too sure of myself. I arrived with a flower in my gun. He swept me away.”
At the Beijing Olympics, Teddy showed up on the podium (he had won the bronze medal) with a photo of his best friend, a judoka trained in Aubagne. At the time, the latter was fighting leukemia and Teddy wanted to send him "a strong sign to give him courage". Since then, the young man has beaten the disease. He is now in remission.
Teddy has only suffered two significant defeats since joining the seniors: at the Beijing Games, in the 3rd round against the Uzbek Abdullo Tangriev (penalized for non-combativity), then in the all-category final at the 2010 World Championships in Tokyo, against the Japanese Daiki Kamikawara (by decision). But he has not been knocked down since the Paris Tournament in 2006. Then a junior, he was beaten by the Russian Jury Rybak. On the evening of his seventh world heavyweight title, at the end of August 2014 in Chelyabinsk, he had won 65 consecutive fights since September 2010.