Teddy Riner, who became the best judo athlete of all time at the Paris Olympics, is a millionaire – unlike other judokas.
Famous Olympic visitor and long-time USA judo coach Jimmy Pedro told On The Shintaro Higashi Showwhy the French judo great Teddy Riner Make millions.
For example, the former judo stars of the USA have often had to change their sport to freestyle wrestling, which combines techniques from different martial arts.
According to Pedro, the French Judo Federation has more than 550,000 paying members, thanks to which it has an annual operating budget of $20 million. In the United States, USA Judo has only 12-13,000 members who pay $100 each. It accumulates cash assets of 1.15–1.5 million dollars per year.
– Financially, the difference between French and US judo is like night and day. This huge difference is directly reflected in the earning potential of top judoka. The French Riner receives more than a million dollars annually from sponsors and the club alone. It is a larger amount than our entire operating budget in this country for each of our athletes, compares Pedro.
Kayla Harrisona two-time Olympic champion in judo, has previously told the freestyle program MMA Hour that he was offered such a modest base salary by the USA Judo Federation that he therefore had to continue his sports career as a freestyle fighter.
Last year, the female judoka who earned the most competition money on the world judo tour during the year, a Canadian Jessica Klimkait earned only less than half of what the female player who lost in the 1st round of tennis Wimbledon received (72,000 euros).
Judo legend Riner, 35, has expressed his reluctance to compete as a freelancer. At least he doesn’t have to change martial arts in pursuit of money. Riner’s club PSG alone has paid him an estimated annual salary of 400,000 euros for a long time.
– Fighting in a cage is not interesting because there is no moral code in MMA. I’m a warrior on the tatami, you always have to respect your opponent as well.
According to Pedro, the Frenchman is a “natural freak” in terms of his physical characteristics, who has been able to use the cash flows he has received through success and invested his assets wisely.
“Judo entrepreneur” Riner’s fortune is according to various sources more than 245 million euros. As a stock investor and holder of a significant real estate portfolio, he owns several restaurants in Paris and the football club Abymes, and receives significant additional earnings from numerous advertising contracts, for example as a model for cosmetics companies and protein bars.