Paris 2024 Olympic Games: After the Paris Grand Slam, Teddy Riner continues his preparation in Antalya

Teddy Riner jouera pour une quatrième médaille d’or aux JO à Paris cet été. MAXPPP – Laurent Lairys

After his victory at the Paris tournament, Teddy Riner will return to competition on Sunday at the Antalya Grand Slam. Many contenders for the Olympic title will also be present.

As he announced after his eighth title at the Grand Slam in Paris at the beginning of February, Riner will continue his preparation towards a third individual Olympic title in Turkey.

A raised plateau

Among the heavyweights, the competition will be tough for the 34-year-old French star, who will have the right to a sort of dress rehearsal four months before the Olympic deadline.

Japan has notably decided to send its representative to the Olympics, Tatsuru Saito, 22 years old. The Finnish sensation Martti Puumalainen, European champion and winner of the Masters in 2023, is also registered, as is the Cuban Andy Granda, 2022 world champion, and the Uzbek Alisher Yusupov, 4th in the world who almost beat Riner in Paris in February.

One last step with the Games

Antalya could be Riner's last tournament before the Games, with two Grand Slams planned in May in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, then the World Championships in Abu Dhabi (19th to 24th). nbsp;may).

Also read: Stéphane Nomis: "Teddy Riner and Clarisse Agbegnenou would have deserved to be standard bearers again"

Four other French Olympic selections, Luka Mkheidze (-60 kg), Walide Khyar (-66 kg), Alpha Djalo (-81 kg) and Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou, will also be present in Turkey.

Among the women, Olympic vice-champion Madeleine Malonga (-78 kg) will play her ticket to the Games. In the only category that does not yet have a French representative, Malonga is competing at a distance with Audrey Tcheuméo, who failed to bring home a medal from Tbilisi last Sunday.