Teddy Riner is accused of cheating his way to a gold medal in Paris! The Frenchman Riner is considered a legend in Judo. The judoka has conquered practically everything in his career and is still striving for more. Competing in 5 Olympic editions till now, Riner has bagged 5 coveted gold medals along with a couple of bronzes. Apart from the Olympics, the 35-year-old judo practitioner has won 11 World Championship golds and 5 gold medals in the European Championship. 

Specializing in the +100 kg category, Riner has once again dominated his way to a couple of gold medals in Paris. Surprisingly, even after beating his competitors fair and clean, a section of the internet is taking scathing shots at Teddy Riner. For context, Teddy Riner is 6’8”, 140 kg, while his opponent from the quarterfinals stood at a mere 5′ 9”, 81 kg! So the allegations sound fair, right? Well, there’s a catch. 

Was Teddy Riner really at fault? 

Competing in the quarterfinals of the mixed-team event, France faced South Korea. More importantly, Riner was pitted against Joonhwan Lee. As it is apparent from the statistics given above, the showdown was literally that of David vs. Goliath. Having no difficulty whatsoever, Riner obliterated Lee in just 94 seconds. And that’s when the alarm bells began to ring. A significant section of the fans accused Teddy Riner of ‘cheating’ for fighting an opponent out of his weight class.

Well, despite the fact that Riner and Lee do not belong to the same weight category, there was nothing Teddy Riner could have done. Prior to the Olympics, South Korea suffered significant setbacks as they failed to qualify for a number of Olympic weight categories. Having no other choice, the nation was compelled to send in judokas much lower in weight to compete against the bigger opponents. And the example of Joonwahn Lee was a stark example of the same. 

As a matter of fact, to make an even competition, South Korea could have sent in their best bet, Kim Min Jong, against Riner. However, their coach, Hwang Hee Tae, decided to secure a bronze medal instead and rested Jong against Riner. According to the rules of the IOC, teams losing in the quarterfinals will get a second chance to compete for the bronze medal in the repechage round. However, even though the scenario is pretty clear, the controversy does not seem to be pacifying anytime soon. On the internet, the fans gave a mixed reaction to the newly surfaced debate. 

Fans get divided on Teddy Riner’s cheating allegations 

No sooner had the controversy begun than fans from all over the internet flocked to voice their opinions. While some supported Teddy Riner, others did not mince words to lash out at the Judo legend. 

One fan tried to defend Teddy Riner, emphasizing that his size and strength do not undermine his skill and technique in judo. Despite the weight disparity in the quarter-final match against Joonhwan Lee, the fan believes Riner’s success stems from his exceptional abilities, not just his physical advantages, thus dismissing the cheating allegations. They commented, “Riner is a beast and a top 5 judoka of all time, and his throws were always good. Just because he was a bigger stronger guy doesn’t change the fact that he was good”.

Another fan emphasized Riner’s positive reputation across the globe, particularly in Austria, suggesting that, despite the recent controversy, he still remains highly respected and well-regarded internationally. “I do not think there is a more well known international Judoka than Riner in Austria. I have never heard anything negative about him IRL,” added the fan.

One Reddit user, on the other hand, acknowledged Teddy Riner’s dominance and right to be considered one of the greatest in terms of competition. However, on the other hand, they also suggested that, according to their personal opinion, in terms of pure judo skill, there are other champions, like Shohei Ono, who is more talented. The user wrote, “Competition wise riner is a beast and has all the rights to be up there with the goats. Judo wise, i think that there have been other champions far more talented than him (shoei ono to say one name)”.

One user suggested that Riner’s fame has reached a point that would attract both admiration and fame, as well as criticism. According to the fan’s words, despite his clean victory, his profile draws intense scrutiny. The Reddit comment read, “When you’re as famous as he is, it’s impossible not to have some loud haters.”

Another Judo enthusiast argues that if Teddy Riner’s success has solely been due to his size rather than skill, a technically superior judoka should still be able to defeat him. Reflecting on Riner’s match against Joonhwan Lee, despite Riner’s size advantage, the fan suggested that a superior technique should triumph if Riner’s skill isn’t up to par. “If the argument is that his size is a crutch for his lack of “technically sound judo,”  then why can’t a more skilled opponent defeat him with better judo?” read the comment. The words also imply that Riner’s victories, even against smaller opponents, validate his technical prowess in judo, not just his physical advantage.

Comparing Teddy Riner to Naoya Shinohara, a Japanese judoka from the 90s known for his technical prowess, one Reddit user wrote, “Riner is not technical big like Shinohara of Japan back in 90s. He relies heavily on grip fights and raw strength to secure good position for the throw. It’s not pretty to watch, but he has been consistently very dominant nonetheless kind of like Shaq on tatami.” The comment highlighted that, unlike Shinohara, Riner relies more on grip fighting and raw strength than technical skills. Comparing Riner’s dominance with the overwhelming physical presence of Shaquille O’Neal in basketball, the user mentioned that he has managed to constantly emerge victorious. Thus, with the waters turning murky, it will be interesting to see how things take a turn in the days to come.