Judoka banished From Paris Olympics After Kicking French Judo Legend Teddy Riner To The Crotch

John Davis

Guram Tushishvili has been banished from the Olympics, effective immediately, after kicking out at his opponent’s crotch during the quarterfinal round of the men’s 100kg+ judo competition. The reigning silver medalist from Tokyo will not get a chance to compete for a bronze medal as a result.

It was an ugly way to end a heavyweight battle between two of the sport’s greats. Tushishvili hails from Georgia, and his opponent, Frenchman Teddy Riner, is a 6-foot-8, 330-pound Judo god. Riner won gold in Rio and London and did not lose a match between 2010 and 2020.

Riner’s dominant run continued on Friday. He became the most decorated Olympic judoka of all time when a win over South Korea’s Kim Min-Jong gave him a record fourth judo gold and sixth medal overall. Riner defeated Tushishvili in the quarterfinal before standing on top of the podium. It got ugly toward the end.

Tushishvili at one point kicked Riner right where the sun does not shine, on purpose. The former was then unable to control his emotions after a final takedown guaranteed him the lost. He stood up off of the mat and pushed down on the latter’s head with an open hand.

Not only did the contest end in loss for Tushishvili, the officials awarded him a red card for his behavior. Although he was able to regain his composure and shook hands with the eventual gold medalist after the result was announced, it was the end of his Olympics.

The International Judo Federation issued a disqualification as a result of the incident. “The behavior of the Georgian judoka was against the ‘spirit of judo,’ an ad hoc disciplinary commission was called immediately together to investigate the situation,” the IJF statement read. Tushishvili is suspended from the individual competition and the mixed team event, as well as any international judo competition until the IJF Disciplinary Commission meets to give a final decision.

A kick to the crotch and palm to the face will not be tolerated, the IJF made clear. Tushishvili had the chance to essentially move through a loser’s bracket back onto the podium, but that opportunity was taken from him because he went against the spirit of judo.

John Davis