Teddy Riner withdraws from 2026 World Championships

Teddy Riner will miss next month’s World Championships in Baku after failing to recover sufficiently from a right-shoulder injury suffered in training this summer. The withdrawal ends his hopes of fighting for a 12th world title and postpones his return to competition once again. He was France’s only entrant in the over-100kg division.

The 37-year-old has not competed since 15 December 2024, when he beat Cuba’s Andy Granda for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. That victory followed his Olympic triumph in Paris, where he won individual and team gold. Riner later underwent surgery on his right elbow and also missed the World Championships in Budapest in June.

He had targeted a comeback at the Lausanne Grand Slam in late August after bringing his 2025 season to an early close, with Darcel Yandzi joining his coaching team. The shoulder problem ruled out Lausanne and now Baku. Riner has previously managed long periods away from competition, including gaps between 2017 and 2019 and again between 2019 and 2021, before returning to win medals at the Tokyo Olympics.

Los Angeles 2028 remains his main objective and is expected to be his final major target. However, his repeated withdrawals have left him outside the world rankings. To qualify for the Games, he will need to move into the top 17 of the over-100kg category within the next two years, making a sustained return and regular accumulation of points essential.