Is Teddy Riner the GOAT Judoka?

[KillerIsBack V2]

First off I'd wanna say putting guys like Ilias Iliadis over him only cause they moved up in weight is unfair as there's no higher weight for him to move to.

Anyway, 8 world golds and 1 bronze, and 2 olympic gold and one bronze, and 2 openweight world gold and 1 bronze. really seems like the most impressive resume anyone has produced in the sport.

What do u guys think?(no nostalgia goggles please)

Edit: just to be clear, I don't know shit about Judo(as in I don't follow it and never trained in a judo gym) So I'm here to learn

 

[CFGroup]

Guy's a killer no question.

It's hard to find competition at 6'8 and 300lbs that is in as good a condition at that size.

the guy's a freak.

He plays a pretty simple gripping strategy but does it to perfection.

Post 2008 rules change open weight GOAT.

 

[GnPFury]

Yes he is the Giant of All Time (GOAT) judoka.

 

[Bluesbreaker]

He has the best record/the most dominant run, so yes. I don't care about the rules, his size, etc. It's not his fault leg grabs went or other players aren't built like him.

 

[nefti]

Men lie women lie.. numbers dont

 

[winterbike]

Guys in the know, who would be the other contenders?

 

[TheFakeMacoy]

One thing to keep in mind is that the World Championships used to be held every 2 year, not annually. There was a good post on JudoCrazy about this a couple years back:
http://www.judocrazy.com/2017/09/how-teddy-riner-can-become-indisputable.html
The summary of it is that Ryoko Tani had the opportunity to win a world title every year, she may have had more achievements than Riner. Tadahiro Nomura is also the only person to have 3 Olympic gold medals in judo.

If you're looking at dominance, Yasuhiro Yamashita had a 203 match streak without a loss, vs. Riner's 154. Also, while Riner went unbeaten for a longer time, he sat out most of 2018-2019.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

I don't think that other guys his size can be more technical, yet he isn't as technical as lighter guys.

It s a question which is impossible to answer.

 

[nefti]

One thing to keep in mind is that the World Championships used to be held every 2 year, not annually. There was a good post on JudoCrazy about this a couple years back:
http://www.judocrazy.com/2017/09/how-teddy-riner-can-become-indisputable.html
The summary of it is that Ryoko Tani had the opportunity to win a world title every year, she may have had more achievements than Riner. Tadahiro Nomura is also the only person to have 3 Olympic gold medals in judo.

If you're looking at dominance, Yasuhiro Yamashita had a 203 match streak without a loss, vs. Riner's 154. Also, while Riner went unbeaten for a longer time, he sat out most of 2018-2019.

The hw talent pool in the 70s and 80s was what? 60~70% of today? Especially st heavy weight.

 

[nefti]

I don't think that other guys his size can be more technical, yet he isn't as technical as lighter guys.

It s a question which is impossible to answer.

The real question is: can either group be more efficient?

 

[tekkenfan]

god imagine him in a super fight vs gordon ryan double fight like him vs pat that would be fun to watch curious to see his ground game

 

[QingTian]

I don't find watching him particularly interesting. It's not his fault as he is just making the most of his build. But it's basically doing a rock paper scissors game repeatedly until he gets you. That's what you can do when you are the tallest and strongest.

 

[Toujourpret]

Taking nothing away from Riner, I still have Tani ahead.

Tani
Olympics - 2 gold 2 silver 1 bronze
Worlds - 7 gold 1 bronze

Tani's three loses at the Olympics were against the eventual gold medalists.

Riner
Olympics - 2 gold 1 bronze
Worlds - 8 gold

Riner's Olympic loss came against the eventual silver medalist so he can not even claim to be the second best in the tournament.

Although highly debatable, I would argue the -48kg weight division is more competitive than the +100kg. There are more small women in the world than there are big dudes.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Taking nothing away from Riner, I still have Tani ahead.

Tani
Olympics - 2 gold 2 silver 1 bronze
Worlds - 7 gold 1 bronze

Tani's three loses at the Olympics were against the eventual gold medalists.

Riner
Olympics - 2 gold 1 bronze
Worlds - 8 gold

Riner's Olympic loss came against the eventual silver medalist so he can not even claim to be the second best in the tournament.

Although highly debatable, I would argue the -48kg weight division is more competitive than the +100kg. There are more small women in the world than there are big dudes.

Your username is missing an S.

 

[Zankou]

It’s a hard question because—as with Karelin dominating in Greco Roman—there is such a small pool of competitors who are natural physical athletes at that size, as opposed to carrying a ton of extra weight on a smaller frame. In lower weight divisions, the athlete pool is super deep, and it’s much harder for a competitor to just physically dominate everybody.

That all said, I still think Riner is the judo goat at this point. He is technically as good as anybody, and his physical superiority makes him near unbeatable except by a perfect counter (as we recently saw).

 

[ArtemV]

As for technically dominating, I would say Ono. He has the cleanest techniques and constantly wins against the very best at 73kg. He has bested Ebinuma and Hashimoto on several occasions, and the rest of the guys at 73kg, while very good, are still not on his level. Nobody has such an aura around him/her like Shohei Ono does. It doesn't hurt that he is probably the best ippon-scorer in Judo right now.

 

[RJ Green]

 

[Popnfresh]

Well, he's the GOAT now

 

[Patrick Jane]

Christa Deguchi is the GOAT

 

[Nathan LaMontagne]

For big guys my money is still on Yamashita, I think his Judo was better.

Still insane Tani (Tamura) has that many worlds while only getting to compete every two years.

For French Judoka David Douillet needs a mention.