Teddy Riner wins third individual Olympic gold at Paris 2024

On 2 August 2024, French judoka Teddy Riner won the men's over-100kg title at the Paris Olympics, held at the Champ-de-Mars Arena beneath the Eiffel Tower. He beat South Korea's Kim Min-jong in the final, in front of a home crowd that had made him one of the Games' most anticipated athletes.

It was Riner's third individual Olympic gold, after London 2012 and Rio 2016. He had taken individual bronze in Beijing in 2008 and in Tokyo in 2021, where he also helped France win mixed team gold. At 35, he had returned to the top of the heavyweight category after years of dominance followed by setbacks.

The victory mattered well beyond sport. Riner was already among France's best-known athletes, with a long record of world titles, and his win became one of the defining moments of the home Games. The day after, he added another gold as France won the mixed team event. His profile and popularity from those Games are part of the background to later discussion of his public role.