Riner takes double, Andeol in dreamworld
Six years undefeated, two Olympic gold medals won, and more to come.
French heavyweight Teddy Riner, a record-eight time world champion, earned a second straight gold Friday in the sport's final event of the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Riner is arguably the sport's biggest star, and he didn't disappoint on the mat in his third Olympic tournament. The 27-year-old Frenchman beat second-ranked Hisayoshi Harasawa of Japan on penalties in the final.
Asked if he felt any pressure to bring home the gold, Riner said, “Today I had a good sensation. This is a new gold medal but for every competition there is a little pressure. But this isn’t a problem for me because pressure is good for a big day. Today is a big day, for my life, because I have a new gold medal. I am very happy for my family and for my friends. This Olympiad has been very hard because I had an injury. Today I won. It's a big dream.”
The 24-year-old Harasawa, who was making his Olympic debut, put up a brave fight but was no match for seven-time world champion Riner, who successfully defended the title to match countryman David Douillet as a two-time Olympic champion.
The Japanese judoka was trying to claim the heaviest weight title for the men for the first time since Satoshi Ishii accomplished the feat at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Riner said that if he does make it to the 2020 Tokyo Games — where he said Harasawa would pose a significant threat — he would be honored to practice judo in the country of its origin. But he's not there yet.
"For now, I will take a vacation," he said.
Emilie Andeol, 28, was seen as a potential medallist coming into the competition but few imagined that the French heavyweight would star alongside her legendary teammate Teddy RINER (FRA) on day seven. Chants of ‘Emilie’ echoed around the Carioca Arena 2 as she faced defending Olympic champion and top seed Idalys ORTIZ (CUB). After the four minutes of regulation time ended with a shido apiece and scoreless, the gold medal was decided in the unlimited period of golden score.
ANDEOL, who was pounced up in celebration by teammate and current world champion Gevrise EMANE in the mixed zone, said: "Well, I can’t believe it. I had nothing to lose, honestly. This morning was very difficult, but I did what I had to do and here I am Olympic Champion."
Final Results O100kg
1. RINER, Teddy (FRA)
2. HARASAWA, Hisayoshi (JPN)
3. SILVA, Rafael (BRA)
3. SASSON, Or (ISR)
5. TANGRIEV, Abdullo (UZB)
5. GARCIA MENDOZA, Alex (CUB)
7. MEYER, Roy (NED)
7. KRAKOVETSKII, Iurii (KGZ)
Final Results O78kg
1. ANDEOL, Emilie (FRA)
2. ORTIZ, Idalys (CUB)
3. YAMABE, Kanae (JPN)
3. YU, Song (CHN)
5. SAYIT, Kayra (TUR)
5. KIM, Min-Jeong (KOR)
7. CHEIKH ROUHOU, Nihel (TUN)
7. SAVELKOULS, Tessie (NED)