Teddy Riner is making his comeback on the tatami this weekend for the Grand Slam de Paris. Before this meeting, he returns for the 1st, on his injury, his preparation in Kazakhstan and his objective: Paris 2024.
“I don’t put pressure on myself” admits Teddy Riner this Monday. A few days before the Grand Slam of Paris, a famous Parisian tournament scheduled for February 4 and 5, the triple Olympic champion hopes above all “enjoying fun, information and points. And continue to prepare for the Games »
Barely returned from an internship in Kazahkstan, it was at the Judo Institute in Paris that Teddy Riner walked the French carpets last Monday. “It was a great course, it’s rewarding on a lot of technical points. We worked the ground a lot” he assures. Faced with strong opponents, 20 heavyweights in ten days, Teddy Riner has also, in part, been able to regain his pre-injury sensations. “The truth is that when I get on a treadmill I’m scared but right now you have to let go. In Kazakhstan, I was very afraid of injuring myself because I had to see the jigs in the face. It’s never easy to come back from an injury, especially this one where I avoided the operation. “. Last October, an ankle injury kept him away from the mats and the world championships in Tashkent in Uzbekistan. He is back this weekend for his first international competition in blue since, and with his sights set on 2024.
« I’m good everywhere » reassures the judoka “Today, time counts. If there’s one event you can’t miss, it’s the Olympic Games at home, so I’m happy, but I’m careful. »
The Paris Games, the Guadeloupe champion thinks about it more and more, “ all i do is for games he admits. ” On y goes step by step. In my head it starts very slowly. In September when we are going to attack the season it will be the beginning and January 2024, the sprint “. Until then, the heavyweight program remains the sequence of internships in Brazil, Japan and also at the end of the season in Guadeloupe. ” Not to go to the beach ! he warns.
Pumped up, Teddy Riner seems to have reached a level of maturity unequaled in his career: “Before, I would have said it’s being weak to slow down. Today no, we do quality. A new way of thinking, perhaps synonymous with a third individual Olympic title: Winning a medal at the foot of the Eiffel Tower is unique the judoka is already dreaming.