France’s Teddy Riner can cement his place as judo’s “king” by winning his third Olympic gold in Tokyo — according to the only person ever to achieve the feat: Tadahiro Nomura.
The retired Japanese judoka said that he would love to see Riner match his own triple tally at Tokyo’s historic Nippon Budokan arena, and wants the French giant to “give a performance worthy” of his talents.
Riner won his second Olympic title in 2016 in low-key fashion, beating Japan’s Hisayoshi Harasawa in the plus-100kg final, after a defensive display that drew boos from the Rio crowd.
Photo: AFP
Nomura urged the French superstar to win with a touch more panache in Tokyo, even if it means Riner edging out his Japanese compatriot for the title again.
“It would be tough to see a Japanese fighter lose, but I’d also be happy to see Riner win the title,” said Nomura, who won his first Olympic 60kg title at the 1996 Atlanta Games and defended it in Sydney and Athens.
“My ideal would be for him not to be booed by the crowd, but to give a performance worthy of him as the king — to win his third title with strong judo,” he said.
Nomura said that Riner would compete with “wounded pride” after his almost 10-year, 154-match unbeaten streak was ended by Japan’s Kokoro Kageura in February last year.
That would make the French superstar “a scary prospect” for opponents in Tokyo, and defeat might have helped refocus his mind, Nomura said.
“He has a different look in his eyes, and his body is different — he’s sharp,” he said.
“He wasn’t in his best condition and he wasn’t prepared, and he lost. He knows that. It’s wounded his pride and he’ll be coming to win in Tokyo,” he added.
Nomura, still looking trim and toned under his sharp suit, has managed athletes and worked in the media since retiring at the age of 40 in 2015.
He knows Riner well, having first met him on a trip to France in 2007.
Nomura described the French heavyweight as an “awesome athlete” who is “very kind and charming,” and said that Riner’s 10 world championship titles make him “the king, definitely.”
Still, Nomura remains the only athlete ever to win three Olympic judo gold medals — at least for now.
The Japanese legend knows firsthand how difficult it would be for Riner to match his achievement.
Nomura said he expected Atlanta to be his first and last Olympics when he made his debut in 1996, but he grew in confidence as the competition progressed and ended up taking home the gold medal.
He was at the top of his game in Sydney four years later, but the pressure that followed persuaded him to relocate to the US in a bid to take the heat off.
There, he rediscovered his love for judo, and decided to move back to Japan to aim for a third title in Athens.
“Many times, people said Nomura was finished, asked how long I was planning to cling on or told me I should retire,” he said.
“It was a question of if I believed in myself, and how serious I was about wanting it,” he added.
Nomura said that Riner should already have won three Olympic gold medals, but points to his 2008 Beijing Games semi-final defeat to Uzbekistan’s Abdullo Tangriev as “the danger of knockout competition.”
Instead, he said that the “hallowed ground” of the Nippon Budokan, which hosted judo at the 1964 Tokyo Games, would be a fitting place for the Frenchman to finally complete his hat-trick.
“Just going to that venue gives me a special feeling — I’ve only seen video footage of Olympic judo at the Budokan, so I’m really excited to see it with my own eyes,” Nomura said.
“Riner has said he’s really looking forward to competing in Japan — the birthplace of judo. I’d love to see Harasawa against Riner in the final,” he added.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS