Teddy Riner, the French giant, 2.03 metres high and weighing 131 kilos, had days of glory in Rio de Janeiro. After relaxing in the beaches of the Marvellous City, taking pictures at the statue of Christ the Redeemer and visiting Rocinha favela, Riner won his sixth world title at Maracanãzinho Arena by defeating Brazilian Rafael Silva in the final match of the 2013 World Judo Championships and joined the team of greatest stars of the next edition of the Olympic Games once and for all.

“The Rio 2016 Olympic Games are my next great goal. It all started here in Rio de Janeiro. I hope I can win every time I’m here”, said the 24-year-old judoka.

A world sport idol, Riner was even compared to icons such as Usain Bolt. However, the judoka says he still has to improve a lot in order to reach the Jamaican’s level. Bolt is world record holder of the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 relay and owner of six Olympic gold medals.

“I don’t consider myself to be a living legend of sport. In order to do that, I still have to win a lot more medals. I’m always on the hunt for more medals. I’m really determined”, he says.

World champion for the first time at the age of 18 in the 2007 World Championships, which were also held in Rio de Janeiro, Riner was defeated only twice since then – by Uzbek Abdullo Tangriev, in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and by Japanese Daiki Kamikawa, in the Tokyo 2010 World Championships.

“The status of being the man to be defeated motivates me. Facing challenges is part of my nature but I know I’m not invincible. I don’t like losing and I train hard so that great disappointments such as the defeat in Beijing don’t happen again. Someday there will be someone who will be able to defeat me, but I prepare so this may never happen”, he said.

Superstitious, Riner insisted on visiting Instituto Reação, an NGO led by Flavio Canto, former judoka and Olympic champion, in Rocinha favela, repeating the visit that took place in 2007, before he earned his first gold medal in world championships. Always smiling, the Frenchman gave tips to young judokas and participated in a training session.

“I was very impressed with the quality of the training session. The children watch everything, they know how to listen. I believed favela meant violence. I was afraid of coming here. But people look you in the eyes, they are friendly. It’s a place with a lot of energy. People’s joy is overwhelming”, he said before adding: “I trained with Flavio once when I was 15 years old. I was the smaller one so he defeated me”.

He is in love with the land of Football and, now, of the Olympic Games. He also ensured he will be back in Brazil many times:

“I love Brazil, I feel very comfortable here. I love the sun, the beach, to stay there relaxing, thinking… It’s always a pleasure to be here”.

Rafael Silva, one of Riner’s greatest rivals

Currently, one of the French gladiator’s greatest rivals is Brazilian Rafael Silva, also known as “Baby”. In the Rio World Championships final for the heavyweight class, Riner defeated the Brazilian judoka for the fifth time in five matches. Now, Rafael is looking for a new strategy to try to overpower his opponent in Rio 2016.