Judo: Teddy Riner withdraws from World Championships

Teddy Riner will not compete at the World Judo Championships in Baku after failing to recover from a shoulder injury sustained during summer training. The tournament runs from October 4 to 11, and Riner had been aiming for a record 12th world title.

The French judoka had already pulled out of the Lima Grand Prix and the Lausanne Grand Slam. The federation said the progress of his injury “will not allow him to participate in the 2026 World Championships in Baku” and that recovery and a return in the best possible conditions were now the priority.

Riner has repeatedly postponed his return to individual competition since the Paris Olympics. His first delay followed surgery on an elbow, while his latest setback involves the shoulder that underwent surgery in 2013.

He has not competed in an individual tournament since the Paris Games in summer 2024, where he won his third individual Olympic title and his second team gold medal. He later fought once for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, which the club won at the end of 2024.

At 37, the three-time Olympic champion, who won Olympic titles in 2012, 2016 and 2024, has made the Los Angeles Games in two years the final goal of his career. Before then, he will need to secure an Olympic quota through his results.

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The progress of his injury will not allow him to participate in the 2026 World Championships in Baku. The priority now remains his recovery and his return in the best possible conditions.