Teddy Riner’s Olympic Comeback: French Judo Star’s Intense Training in Morocco

After spending ten years defeating the greatest champions in the discipline, the French judoka Teddy Riner found someone stronger on his path in the person of the Japanese Kokoro Kageura. It was in February 2020. Since then, he has been working tirelessly to come back strong on the tatami, to wash away this affront by winning a third title.

In the documentary devoted to the athlete that France 2 will broadcast this Thursday, we describe a man who saw in this defeat of a year ago an opportunity to unload the pressure weighing on his shoulders, reports francetvinfo.

As there is never one without two, a few months later, at the French team championships, the heavyweight is defeated again. A click takes place in him and he leaves to isolate himself in Marrakech, Morocco to reflect on his career and make the necessary decisions. It is therefore under the sunny landscape of Morocco that he has chosen to go green to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. "I needed to get away from everyone, I needed to refocus on myself," he confides.

Directed by Benoît Durand, Brice Baubit and Laurent Lefebvre, the documentary "Teddy Riner, the quest" traces the story of the athlete, his efforts and the many changes that have occurred in the career of the one who, beyond failure, doubts, questioning, injuries, only desires one thing today: to become world champion in his category again. And that goes through the gold medal in Tokyo. This would make the Frenchman the most titled judoka in the Olympic Games, on a par with the Japanese Tadahiro Nomura in the under 60kg category.

Winning this medal is so important to the champion that he decides to change the way he trains, adopting in particular neurological stimulation exercises. Major change, he decides to part ways with half of his staff. "Eight months before the Games, the risk is enormous," worries Laurent Calleja, his personal coach since 2017, who has been kept in the team. "Even if you’ve lost twice, they’re still people who made you win for ten years." But Teddy Riner assumes the decision and thinks that he needed to make a perhaps difficult but essential choice. He is ready to do anything to regain his best level.

He is supported by his partner Luthna Plocus, who understands that at this stage of his career, he wants to shake up the habits to give himself new chances. "This is a key moment. He knows what he’s doing and he has a very good instinct. He knows what he needs, who knows better than him?"

The documentary "Teddy Riner, the quest" will be broadcast this Thursday, July 22 at 9:05 pm on France 2, as well as on france.tv.