Teddy Riner delivered a stunning performance, clinching a spectacular ippon to secure Olympic team gold for France in an electrifying finale against Japan. The Olympic Games concluded with a storybook ending that captivated the audience. The French team triumphed in a nail-biting finish, narrowly avoiding a 4-1 defeat. The home crowd's energy was pivotal, with Joan-Benjamin Gaba emerging as a standout hero.
The final kicked off with a match between Sanshiro Murao (JPN), the Olympic silver medallist, and Maxime-Gael Ngayap Hambou, the Olympic bronze medallist. Despite Ngayap Hambou's relentless pressure, Murao clinched an ippon with his sharp left uchi-mata in golden score. In the subsequent bout, Takayama executed an o-uchi-gari against Dicko, winning with a waza-ari despite facing two penalties.
Next up, Teddy Riner took center stage, dominating Saito and throwing him for ippon with a massive uchi-mata two minutes into golden score. The scoreboard now read 2-1 in favor of Japan.
In a surprising match-up, Natsumi Tsunoda faced Cysique. Tsunoda’s relentless tomoe-nage eventually threw Cysique for ippon, putting Japan ahead 3-1.
Double Olympic champion Hifumi Abe then faced Joan-Benjamin Gaba in a masterclass of judo. After nearly 9 minutes of intense combat, Gaba stunned the crowd by throwing Abe for ippon with kata-guruma, bringing France back into contention.
Riding high on Gaba's win, Clarisse Agbegnenou faced her old rival Takaichi. Agbegnenou threw for ippon with a left-sided makikomi, leveling the scores and setting the stage for a dramatic final draw.
The heavyweight +90 kg category was chosen, pitting Tatsuru Saito against Teddy Riner. In a tense six-minute contest, Riner, now a judo icon, threw Saito for ippon, sealing the gold for France.
Earlier in the evening, Brazil and Italy battled for an Olympic Mixed Team bronze. Brazil opened strongly, with Macedo and Souza securing wins. Despite Italy's efforts, Brazil led 3-2. Italy's Savita Russo leveled the match at 3-3, but Silva's uchi-mata in the final bout secured the bronze for Brazil.
The second bronze medal match saw Korea facing Germany. Joonhwan Lee of Korea lost to Trippel, but Kim and Huh extended Korea’s lead. Wandtke kept Germany's hopes alive by defeating An. Miriam Butkereit tied the match for Germany, forcing a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker saw An and Wandtke face off again, with An prevailing on penalties to secure the bronze for Korea.
Key Highlights:
France defended their mixed team judo title in a thrilling final against Japan at the Olympic Games, mirroring the Tokyo 2020 outcome with France taking gold and Japan securing silver.
Despite Japan's strong start, winning three out of the first four contests, France made a remarkable comeback.
Clarisse Agbegnenou brought the score to 3-3 by defeating Takaichi Miku with a waza-ari.
The legendary Teddy Riner clinched the gold for France by triumphing over Saito Tatsuru with an ippon in the final and deciding contest.
Brazil and the Republic of Korea both emerged victorious in the bronze medal matches, defeating Italy and Germany with 4-3 wins, respectively.
This event marked only the second time that mixed team judo has been featured in the Olympic Games, following its debut in Tokyo 2020.