By Zhifan Liu
PARIS (Reuters) – Teddy Riner is 35, he is judo’s most decorated athlete at the Olympics and he claimed a record fourth gold on Friday, but the Frenchman might not even be done yet.
Riner won the +100kg title against world number one Kim Min-jong of South Korea, making up for his quarter-final exit at the previous Olympics, when he had to settle for bronze.
He has six Olympic medals to his name across five Games, and his coach on Friday said he might go for another one.
“I think he could go until Los Angeles (in 2028), of course, but he would need to manage his efforts because his body is getting tired,” Christian Chaumont told reporters.
“He will go for it if he still has that flame burning, but for now, let’s let him enjoy this medal.”
While the support of the crowd helped him through tough moments, notably in his opening bout, the pressure was huge to deliver at his home Games.
“He knew that he had no right to make mistakes. He had seen some of his teammates lose by small margins so he didn’t want that to happen to him,” Chaumont said.
“He was cautious (at the beginning of the tournament), so obviously when you’re cautious, you don’t produce your best.”
Riner upped his level gradually and even Kim was without a solution against his opponent’s reach and sudden moments of aggression.
“He’s been at a high level for 20 years, with a couple of hiatus, but he’s still there, he’s a three-time (individual) Olympic champion,” Chaumont said.
“He’s writing history, it’s impressive. He’s always going to impress us.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Alison Williams)
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