Olympic champion Teddy Riner eager to win European Games medals
French judo fighter, Olympic champion Teddy Riner said he is determined to get his hands on medals of the first European Games in Baku.
Riner was born on 7 April 1989 in Les Abymes near Pointe-a-Pitre, on the island of Guadeloupe, during a family holiday. He was raised in Paris, France. He won the World and European junior titles in 2006. In 2007, he won a gold medal at the European Judo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, on the day after his eighteenth birthday. At the 2007 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he became the youngest ever senior world champion when he won the heavyweight (+100 kg) event.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Riner competed in the men's heavyweight event. He received a bye into the second round of the competition. In the repechage he defeated Andreas Tolzer and Joao Schlittler to reach a bronze medal final against Lasha Gujejiani of Georgia; Riner took the bronze medal by a score of one ippon, one yuko and one koka to nil. In December 2008 he won his second World Championship gold medal at the Open weight Championships held in Levallois-Perret, France, by beating Alexander Mikhaylin of Russia in the final.
Riner won his third world title at the 2009 World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 2010, he won two medals, a gold and a silver, at the World Championships in Tokyo.
Riner won his second European gold medal at the 2011 Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. At the 2011 World Judo Championships in Paris Riner won the gold medal in men's +100 kg division, beating Germany's Tolzer in the final. The result meant that Riner became the first ever male Judoka to win five world titles. He won his sixth World Championship gold medal as part of the French side that won the team event.
Riner was selected to compete for France at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom in the men's heavyweight event. The event took place at ExCeL London on 3 August. Riner won the gold medal by defeating Russia's Alexander Mikhaylin in the final, AzerTac state news agency reported.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz