The French Judo Federation announced on Monday that five-time Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner will return to competition at the prestigious Grand Slam tournament to be held in Paris on February 2nd.
Riner has not fought since last summer’s Paris Games, where he won his third Olympic individual heavyweight title (over 100 kg) and second team gold medal.
The 35-year-old, who holds the Paris title, has said he wants to continue his career until the 2028 Los Angeles Games. He won there for the eighth time last year.
Other medalists at the Paris Olympics include Clarice Agbenunu, who had to settle for an individual bronze medal after winning gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The six-time world champion will compete at -70kg instead of the usual -63kg category.
As a surprise, one of the heroes of the team final against Japan, Olympic silver medalist João-Benjamin Gaba, Maxime-Gael Gayap Hanbou (-90kg bronze) and Luka Mkhize (-60kg silver) is also scheduled to attend.
Paris women’s bronze medalists Romane Dico (+78kg) and Shirine Boucri (-48kg) will also participate.
