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French judo great Teddy Riner is trading his kimono for a political career, launching a campaign to run for the presidency of France.
The five-time Olympic gold medalist’s shift from tatami mats to national politics has drawn attention across borders, prompting enthusiastic reactions from Spanish sports leaders, Eurosport reported.
Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), addressed the announcement during the UCAM Sports Gala.
“He is an absolute standout who is taking a very big jump into politics,” Blanco told Eurosport Espana.
“I wish him the best. Surely, if everything he used to be a world champion and Olympic champion is put into politics, it will be a very important contribution to French politics and society. But let’s wait and see what happens, and I wish him the best, just like all the candidates, and that he has a good election,” Blanco said.
Despite Riner’s impending 39th birthday, Blanco suggested the heavyweight champion could still compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if he chose to do so.
“If he sets his mind to it, he qualifies for Los Angeles for sure,” Blanco told Eurosport Espana.
Judoka Alberto Gaitero expressed skepticism about combining both pursuits.
“I think combining politics with top-level sport is impossible,” Gaitero told Eurosport Espana. “I suppose he will have to decide which of the two he wants.”
At the same time, Gaitero praised the athlete’s ambition. “I would love to see a judoka as president of the Government of Spain, because of course he would have my vote,” he said.
Race walker María Pérez also voiced support for the French judoka’s political ambitions.
“Chapó, I support him, that he fights for that dream and hopefully we can all reach as many Games as he has reached and have so many medals,” Pérez told Eurosport Espana.
When asked which Spanish athlete might follow a similar path, Pérez offered a lighthearted suggestion involving Olympic canoeist Saúl Craviotto.
“As long as we don’t tell Saúl if he wants to run,” Pérez said, before noting the distinct relationship between athletics and governance in Spain. “I don’t think politics and sport match well in Spain, do they? And so here I see it more complicated. But hey, if any athlete wants to run, hey, it has as much merit as any of us.”
“I think athletes are the most admired by society,” Blanco told Eurosport Espana. “The problem is finding that person, that athlete, who has that vocation and who is willing to walk the path. But well, I could see many Spanish athletes doing it.”
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