A fight… and finally two winners. A month ago, in Doha, Teddy Riner made a remarkable comeback at the world judo championships. Six years after his last coronation in the competition, the Frenchman had offered himself an eleventh title.
On May 13, after a disputed final against the Russian – fighter under a neutral flag – Inal Tasoev, in the 100 kg category, he ended up winning on waza-ari in the golden score. But, two days later, the International Judo Federation (IJF) revealed… that he should not have won.
At issue: a refereeing error on an action by his opponent, which had occurred in overtime, after the regulation four minutes of combat, during which the first to score wins. Inal Tasoev had, moreover, at that moment raised his arms and clenched his fists, thinking for a moment that he had won, while Teddy Riner, on the ground, waved his finger no.
In a terse statement issued on June 9, the IJF therefore decided, “after careful analysis by experts, according to the rules of arbitration in force”, to award the title and the associated world ranking points to the two fighters: Inal Tasoev therefore recovers a gold medal but Teddy Riner keeps his eleventh star.
