Teddy Riner had warned him before the Budapest Grand Slam, which he brilliantly won on Sunday : his detailed program for the gradual return to competition, a year after winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, was to be conditioned “depending on how I come back to this first tournament”.
Suffice to say that the preparation for the Paris Olympics in 2024 – probably one of the last major objectives of his career – has started perfectly. But the road is still long before 2024, which the interested party recognized after winning his gold medal in Hungary.
A return to the Worlds, five years later
“It’s never easy to get back into it. I’m happy, we have to keep the positive points and go back a little to look at what hasn’t been and what’s missing for the future, he said after Budapest. I got a few responses, but I’m a dissatisfied anyway. I know what I have to work on and what I need to do to be better. What we want is to arrive in very good conditions for the Paris Olympics, it starts here. »
A little more speed, tone and relaxation are the elements to work on and improve after this first big meeting, which will quickly be put aside to focus on the next big deadline that awaits the French judoka: the championships of the world from October 6 to 13, 2022 in Uzbekistan, a competition in which he has not participated since 2017, edition in Marrakech which he had won for the tenth time in his career. Another good challenge against the best in the world.
Internships abroad, and three to four competitions per year
For the rest, the roadmap is not yet fully specified. But he could continue his momentum by continuing the preparation courses abroad, which he has achieved since his resumption of training last January.
He has thus chained trips and confrontations in Brazil, Croatia, Mongolia, Morocco and Spain, in order to “Looking in each country for what I need to improve my technical-tactical scheme is really positive. We work on the standing-ground connections, the pure fight on the ground to be able to score Ippon in 30-45 seconds and also my offensive scheme standing up to have, normally, solutions against any opponent.detailed Riner on the olympics.fr website.
Useful courses which should continue, at the rate of one per month in a different country, especially since, as stated by his trainer, Franck Chambily, “despite his track record, he still has a lot to learn”. “He is looking to improve his specials, but also to add complements to these movements to give him new possibilities to surprise. Movements more in action – reaction »added the double bronze medalist in the European championship, also interviewed by the site olympics.com.
As far as competitions are concerned, the objective would be to align with three to four major meetings per year. In addition to the worlds, Teddy Riner could thus commit to the European championships by mixed teams, organized on November 12 in Mulhouse. A competition that is missing from his list.
