Judo: Teddy Riner, Julia Tolofua and Madeleine Malonga in the final of the Grand Slam tournament in Antalya

He didn’t tremble. Teddy Riner has qualified for the Grand Slam final in Antalya on Sunday, where he will face Japan’s Tatsuru Saito in a preview of this summer’s big Olympic event.

The two-time Olympic heavyweight champion (2012, 2016) will aim for gold in the late afternoon, after 17:00 local time (16:00 French time). He faces 22-year-old Tatsuru Saito, who represents Japan at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Riner has already beaten him in the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Championships.

The 34-year-old Guadeloupean returned to competition in Turkey after his record eighth Grand Slam title in Paris in February. In Antalya, he started with a victory over Bahraini Azamat Chotchaev in 52 seconds. He then dismissed 27-year-old Dutchman Jur Spijkers and then Brazilian Rafael Silva, another 36-year-old member of the Riner generation, by disqualification after three penalties (hansoku-make).

Malonga scores points

In the half, Riner hit 24-year-old German Erik Abramov for a point (waza-ari) without scoring an ippon. He then won again on hansoku-maka.

Two other tricolors will try to win gold this afternoon in Turkey. Among women, Julia Tolofua (+78 kg) and Madeleine Malonga (-78 kg) also reached the final of their category. Tolofua will face China’s Xin Su, while Malonga will face Germany’s Alina Boehm.

Francilien, the Tokyo 2021 Olympic runner-up, has already scored valuable points in the fight for Olympic qualification. Her direct competitor in the up to 78 kg category, Audrey Choimeo, finished only fifth at the Grand Slam tournament in Tbilisi (Georgia) last week.