French heavyweight Teddy Riner’s quest for a record-tying third consecutive Olympic gold medal in judo ended Friday with a strange loss to Russian athlete Tamerlan Bashaev in the quarterfinals.
The 2.04m (6-foot-8) tall Riner lost 29 seconds into golden score when he fell onto his back as he attempted to throw the 1.75m (5-foot-9) Bashaev, who was given credit for a
waza ari on a sumi-otoshi throw after video review.
Riner, sporting a beard and a shaved head, appeared to be confused by the decision, and he didn’t speak to reporters afterward.
The decision ended the 10-time world champion’s attempt to tie the
Olympic record of three straight gold medals set by Tadahiro Nomura of Japan from 1996 to 2004. He won a bronze medal in Beijing.