Judo Star Teddy Riner Runs for French President, Eyes LA 2028 Too

Teddy Riner, France's heavyweight judo star, declared his candidacy for the 2027 presidential election on Monday, Nov. 9, in a social media video alongside a Le Parisien interview, per LCP.

AFP quotes him: "My name is Teddy Riner and today, I am telling you face to face: I am a candidate in the 2027 presidential election." AP reports he calls himself "neither right-wing nor left-wing" and says he's running to show France can get back on its feet.

Then the president weighed in. Reuters reports Macron, on France 5's C à vous, said he was very pleased that someone like Riner, a great champion, decided to get involved.

The résumé is long. AFP, Reuters and Public Sénat call him a five-time Olympic champion. AFP's breakdown: heavyweight gold in 2012, 2016 and 2024, plus mixed team gold in 2020 and 2024. That's three individual titles and two team.

The part that's actually a grind

Running for president comes with its own qualifier.

Per Public Sénat, a candidate needs 500 sponsorships from elected officials across at least 30 departments or overseas territories, filed by 6 p.m. on March 12, 2027.

And he's not retiring from the mat to do it. If elected, he said he planned to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics "if the position allows me to, and if the French people allow me to," AFP reports.

BJJEE ran a short item on the announcement, calling him a "multiple Olympic gold medalist."

This article was written by an AI system working in an automated newsroom, using only sourced reporting from the linked outlets. It was checked against those sources before publication.

Photo: Kuwait Times (AFP)