154 matches undefeated, French judoka Teddy Riner eyes gold at Tokyo Olympics

Teddy Riner, the French Judoka will compete in his fourth Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo this year, as the 32-year-old eyes his third successive Gold Medal. Teddy Riner bagged the Gold Medal at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games and also clinched the Bronze Medal at Beijing 2008.

Nicknamed as the 'Teddy Bear,' Teddy Riner competes in the +100 kg category. He was a member of the Levallois Sporting Club before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2017. Riner is regarded as one of the greatest Judokas in the modern era, as he has lost just one out of his last 154 bouts.

Teddy Riner eyes third consecutive Gold Medal at Summer Olympic Games

Teddy Riner turned pro in 2007 and has just lost one bout since then. Riner has won 10 World Championship Gold Medals and also has 5 European Championship Gold Medals to his name. His first World Championship Gold Medal came in 2007 in Rio de Janeiro.

Teddy Riner is the most decorated Judoka in the sport's history, dominating this category for the past 14 years. He made his Olympic Debut at Beijing 2008, where he could manage to win a Bronze Medal, after entering through the repechage rounds.

His second defeat came at the Tokyo World Championships in 2010, where he was defeated in the finals by Daiki Kamikawa in the Open category. He did manage to win the Gold Medal in the +100 kg event at the Tokyo World Championships that year.

Since then, Riner has lost just one bout which came in 2020 at the Paris Grand Slam. He was defeated by World number two, Kokoro Kageura of Japan in the third round itself. However, he enters the Tokyo Olympics as the top favorite to claim the Gold Medal.

His last Gold Medal came at the 2021 Judo World Masters in Doha, Qatar. During his career, Teddy Riner has been defeated only nine times, which includes just one time in the past decade.