Teddy Riner is not only an excellent judoka, he proves to be a hard worker and… a good dancer.
Teddy Riner, it’s 2m04 and 145kg. A colossus physique which – among other things – allowed him to become the greatest tatami legend. The Guadeloupean was already, at school, “respected by everyone, whatever the discipline”, he assured the‘Express in 2012. And we want to believe it! His extraordinary size must have intimidated more than one person. At 15 years old, he was already 2 meters tall and weighed 105kg.
In class, however, “things were a little different,” he whispered. “I always had to sit at the back of the class, it happened that the other children refused to play with me. Psychologists advised me to practice modern dance, which helped me a lot”, recently revealed the Tricolor. Although it is hard to imagine Teddy Riner practicing pointes and downstrokes, or even trying tango, salsa or any other modern dance, the exercise was nevertheless beneficial to him.
According to several confidences, dancing has indeed allowed Teddy Riner to better use his massive body. According to him, his size was “not a problem” and the discipline offered him other advantages. We have already seen the Frenchman putting himself on stage, notably on the set of C to youon France Televisions. In a sequence broadcast in 2016, he made Anne-Sophie Lapix dance and was able to demonstrate all of her talent! If he has clearly ruled out any participation in Dancing with the Stars on TF1 in the coming years, he has already shown an interest in television or cinema. But not for a musical: Teddy Riner would see himself more in an action film, between Jason Statham and The Rock…
In the meantime, we especially hope to see him get excited at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and perform victorious dance steps with the same ease. Teddy Riner wants to win one last gold medal before, probably, bowing out at 35. The judoka only trains for that. Fighting once again and winning in front of your audience would be a magnificent conclusion, worthy of the greatest Hollywood stories.