The three-time Olympic champion, ten-time world champion and five-time European champion has never been crowned French team champion since joining PSG Judo in 2017.
Last November, Riner and his teammates won the bronze medal and this time he intends to take his club to the top: "It's a big club, a club with heart and so far I haven't had a team title with them, so it would be nice to finally win this title," he told AFP.
This Villebon meeting should allow him to gain momentum for the World Championships in Uzbekistan at the beginning of October: "my decision is still to do these Worlds, in order to prepare for the 2024 Olympics, even if before that there is also the Budapest + Grand Slam + in July, another important moment," he recalled.
Judoka Teddy Riner, before starting a ten-day stage, March 11, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro CARL DE SOUZA AFP / Archives
In order to approach these meetings in the best conditions, the Frenchman (33 years old) completed two training courses in Brazil and Mongolia which brought him a lot: "I felt the change in terms of frequency of judo, with a great technical diversity. It's another culture, especially in Brazil where I did Brazilian ju-jitsu and I was able to observe the progression. It's great".
Judoka Teddy Riner, in training with Brazilian Rafael Silva, during an internship, March 11, 2022 in Rio de Janeiro CARL DE SOUZA AFP / Archives
The Guadeloupean hopes to draw all the quintessence from it on Saturday during a competition where other stars are expected since the recent European champions, Romane Dicko (+78kg) and Marie-Ève Gahié (-70kg) will be present in Essonne. .
© 2022 AFP