He made the decision as he should with ippon. He did the same in the Round of 16 against Magomedomar Magomedomarov, the quarterfinal against Guram Tushishvili, and the semifinal against Temur Rakhimov.
The sports newspaper L’Equipe cleared their entire front page on their website and replaced it with a picture of Riner and the text “le plus grand”: The greatest.
The stands were packed and the atmosphere at boiling point when Riner changed the mat to fight for yet another title in his impressive collection. He has 11 World Championship golds in addition to the Olympic golds he won in 2012 and 2016.
Made a Comeback
At one point in his career, he was unbeaten for ten years in a row, but many thought his career was coming to an end when at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago he only took bronze in the heaviest class. Nevertheless, he was part of the team that won gold for France in the mixed team competition.
– I feel better than in Tokyo. The 2024 version of me is stronger in every area: Mentally, physically, technically, he said recently. On Friday, he proved it.
Ignited the Flame
Riner is one of France’s biggest sports heroes. He was the flag bearer for the host nation during the opening ceremony, and it was he who, together with former athletics star Marie-José Perec, had the honor of lighting the Olympic flame.
A week later, he celebrated gold, lifted the arm of his defeated opponent, and allowed him to receive the audience’s acclaim alongside him.