Riner delivers gold to France in thriller final against Japan

Teddy Riner delivered yet again, securing a huge ippon and clinching team gold for the hosts, France. The Olympic Games concluded with a fairy-tale ending that no one could have scripted. The French team triumphed over Japan in a thrilling final, narrowly avoiding a 4-1 defeat. The home crowd played a pivotal role, and Joan-Benjamin Gaba emerged as the hero.

The final began with a contest between Sanshiro Murao (JPN), the Olympic silver medallist, and Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou, the Olympic bronze medallist. Ngayap Hambou pressured Murao, but the Japanese judoka secured an ippon with his sharp left uchi-mata in golden score. In the next bout, Takayama executed an o-uchi-gari against Dicko, winning with a waza-ari despite facing two penalties. 

Teddy Riner stepped up next, dominating Saito and throwing him for ippon with a massive uchi-mata two minutes into golden score. The scoreboard now read 2-1 in favor of Japan. 

In a surprising match-up, Natsumi Tsunoda faced Cysique. Tsunoda’s tomoe-nage was relentless, and on her fifth attempt, she threw Cysique for ippon, putting Japan ahead 3-1. 

Hifumi Abe, a double Olympic champion, faced Joan-Benjamin Gaba in what turned out to be a masterclass in judo. After almost 9 minutes of fighting, Gaba stunned the crowd by throwing Abe for ippon with kata-guruma, bringing France back into contention.

Clarisse Agbegnenou, buoyed by Gaba's win, faced her old rival Takaichi. Agbegnenou threw for ippon with a left-sided makikomi, leveling the scores and setting the stage for a final random draw. 

The heavyweight +90 kg category was chosen, pitting Tatsuru Saito against Teddy Riner. In a tense six-minute contest, Riner, now an iconic athlete, threw Saito for ippon, sealing the gold for France.

Earlier in the evening, Brazil and Italy fought for an Olympic Mixed Team bronze. Brazil opened strongly with Macedo and Souza securing wins. Despite Italy's efforts, Brazil led 3-2. Italy's Savita Russo leveled the match at 3-3, but in the final bout, Silva's uchi-mata secured the bronze for Brazil.

The second bronze medal match saw Korea against Germany. Joonhwan Lee of Korea lost to Trippel, but Kim and Huh extended Korea’s lead. Wandtke managed to keep Germany's hopes alive by defeating An. Miriam Butkereit tied the match for Germany, forcing a tiebreaker.

The tiebreak saw An and Wandtke face off again. An prevailed on penalties, securing the bronze for Korea.

Main facts

France successfully defended their mixed team judo title, defeating Japan in a thrilling final at the Olympic Games. The result mirrored the outcome of Tokyo 2020, with France taking gold and Japan securing silver.

Japan initially took a strong lead, winning three out of the first four contests. However, France mounted a remarkable comeback. Clarisse Agbegnenou brought the score to 3-3 by defeating Takaichi Miku with a waza-ari. The final and deciding contest saw the legendary Teddy Riner triumph over Saito Tatsuru with an ippon, clinching the gold for France.

In the bronze medal matches, Brazil and the Republic of Korea both emerged victorious with 4-3 wins over Italy and Germany, respectively. This event marked only the second time that mixed team judo has been featured in the Olympic Games, following its debut in Tokyo 2020.