Riner trains in Tokyo with eye on Olympic gold

TOKYO: French judo star Teddy Riner may have won 10 world championships, but he’s not resting on his laurels, already training in Tokyo, where he hopes to win a third straight Olympic gold in 2020.

For now, his training programme is “no stress,” but the champion judoka has made no secret of his desire to score another top medal when Japan hosts the Games in two years.“I’m still young, I’m 29. Trying to get this third gold medal is a challenge I’ve set myself, but there’s no pressure,” he told AFP with a smile, after several training bouts at a dojo in the Tokyo suburb of Tama. Born in Guadeloupe, Riner is no stranger to Japan, judo’s spiritual home. He has visited more than 30 times, but with the country due to host the summer Olympics, training here now has special resonance.

It also offers a “variety of (sparring) partners” compared to France, according to the colossal athlete, who stands over two metres tall and weighs in at more than 140 kilogrammes (310 pounds). Training with him on Wednesday was Hisayoshi Harasawa, his opponent in the gold-medal match at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“He wasn’t 100 percent, I wasn’t 100 percent, but that didn’t stop us from having a little battle... testing each other out,” Riner said after they sparred.On a two-week trip to Japan, Riner admits he is taking care to avoid putting on weight, after gaining some extra pounds during a training pause after Rio.He expects to soon be “plunging into major (training) preparation, because Tokyo 2020 is coming up fast.”

Part of that programme will involve cutting back on the number of events to which he subjects what he calls his “worn body.”He won’t compete in any world championships before the Olympics, but will participate at events this year in Cancun in October and Tashkent in November.