30 August 2009

Interview World Champion +100kg Teddy Riner (FRA)

Teddy Riner seems to be unbeatable if he attends at World Championships. He has now won 16 World Championships matches in a row since 2007 and a complete clean sheet in three events.
On Sunday he defeated Oscar Brayson from Cuba in the final.
Riner: “I was asking myself a few questions before the first round. But I told myself, I will take one match after the next and I will do my judo. Each time I had some good information (on the opponents) and knew what I should do. For me, I just had to do my judo, and that went well.”

“I stayed focussed to defend the title. The only way for me to gain confidence is to train hard. I told myself, the competition can go well, if you give your maximum. So it wasn’t too hard in each match. It was my day today.”

“I could have felt pressure, but my parents told me, ‘you do your judo’, ‘enjoy what you are doing’. There was a little pressure, yes, but as soon as I switch on my music, I calm down.”
“I’m training for winning a medal.”

You didn’t even fall once!
Riner: “I didn’t want to fall, that’s it. But I did get injured in the match against (Martin) PADAR (EST). We’ll see later how bad it is.”

Judoka