Teddy Riner had come on Sunday to meet the French public and gain a small dose of adrenaline and motivation in the cauldron of Bercy, on his way to the Olympics. In the midst of all these grueling training sessions and the workouts he imposes on himself all the time. At the end of his Sunday, he counted on his hands with an euphoric crowd until eight to list the record number of titles he now holds in the Paris tournament.
He had come especially to assess his level of preparation, check his progress, and what he still needs to refine for the upcoming summer event. From this point of view, the assessment is rich in lessons. It is even nuanced, and that is what enlightens him as much as his staff today.
Question of Weight
After facing the Kazakh Galymzhan Krikbay, the South Korean Jaegu Youn, and the German Losseni Kone, the Uzbek Alisher Yusupov and the Korean Kim Minjong were the two opponents who matched his expectations, useful for his “revision” as he put it, in the semi-final and final rounds.
First point raised by his coach: weight and the obstacle it represents. “He is still a little too heavy, we saw it in the mobility,” noted Franck Chambily. He was at 150 kilograms, the ideal would be between 145 and 140. 145 is good.”
For a judoka, weight is an enemy and time is an aggravating factor. During his career, a competitor experiences increasing difficulties in staying within his weight category. Weight cuts become painful challenges, too impactful, and justify moves to a higher weight class.
“He leaves time to time”
The “heavies” do not escape this rule and, if they are safe from a change in weight class, the carried weight often increases. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Teddy Riner weighed in at 138 kg. The 145 kg that his staff seems to be accepting as the new weight might be a concession given his 35 years. This may have unconsciously led to a different dynamism. “He lacked mobility, pre-mobility before the grab,” noted Franck Chambily. He was not very sharp in grabbing. Most importantly, he needs to activate mobility with the kumikata (guard) grip, and I didn’t see much of that. He let Kim establish himself (in the final).”
On August 2 at the Arena Champs de Mars, the French coach also does not expect his champion to manage his time the same way he did on Sunday, especially the downtime which remains a marker of physical fitness. Teddy Riner seemed to be biding his time, which the technician admits. “It’s two factors: we are six months away from the Olympics and he’s leaving time to time; time to recover,” he explained. “He’s not ‘on his feet’ enough, mobile. We got back from Almaty on Tuesday. There is all this fatigue because he did quite a few randoris (training matches).”
Counteracting Left-Handers
Kim was a first, Yusupov a third encounter in nine months, after the World Championships in May and the Champions League in December. They were “real challenges” according to Chambily. Kim and Yusupov are left-handed and did indeed pose a problem for Riner. And they are not the only ones, far from it. “We are really focusing on left-handers,” admitted the coach. “Today, the top ten on the ranking list, apart from Tasoev (the reigning world co-champion), are all left-handed: Kim, Yusupov, Krpalek (the reigning Olympic champion), Tushishvili, Saito…” Rakhimov, Puumalainen, Granda, Odkhuu are also part of the inventory. Among the most dangerous in +100kg, Franck Chambily also remembers Magomedomarov, even though he’s not in the top eight.
As for Tasoev, “at best, Teddy takes him in a double-handed guard – right-right – where he is more comfortable than with left-handers,” the technician explained. But for everyone else, it remains a burning issue. To work on in the coming months. “He will leave for Marrakech for a week, do a lot of physical training,” his coach said. “We will return to France, then try to go back to Japan one last time (for training). Then there will be the Grand Slam in Turkey.” Because he will still need points.
On Monday, Teddy Riner rose from 21st to 9th place on the Olympic ranking list. Right on the doorstep of the Top 8. No doubt, he will be in Antalya to “get points”. After that, back to the nest. “He will be in France for the final preparation, that’s for sure.” The roadmap is laid out.
