The Olympic 100 kg judo competition was marked by a bizarre incident in which a Georgian competitor was disqualified after unsportsmanlike behavior towards Frenchman and favorite Teddy Riner.
Riner’s quarterfinal match against Guram Tushishvili ended in disqualification for Tushishvili after an apparent winning move for Riner.
The Georgian drove his leg into Riner’s crotch, then got up and pushed the two-time gold medalist’s head into the ground.
Embrouille entre Teddy Riner et son adversaire Géorgien
Teddy Riner a eu une explication rapide mais musclée avec son adversaire Guram Tushishvili après sa victoire en quart de finale des JO de Paris 2024.
Juste après son ippon, Riner s’est peut-être appuyé sur Tushishvili… pic.twitter.com/SDt4wI6PDh
— C’est vraiment arrivé (@cvraimentarrive) August 2, 2024
Tushishvili quickly got a red card for his behavior and was disqualified from the tournament, preventing him from competing for the bronze medal.
“Following the incident that took place at the end of the quarter-final between Teddy Riner (FRA) and Guram Tushishvili (GEO) in the +100 kg weight category, the behavior of the Georgian judoka was completely against the ‘spirit of judo,’ ” the International Judo Federation said in a statement. “An ad-hoc disciplinary commission was called immediately together to investigate the situation.
“The following decisions were taken:
“- Guram Tushishvili is suspended from the individual competition and will not be allowed to compete in the repechage.
“- Guram Tushishvili is suspended from participating in the mixed team event to be held on 3rd August 2024.
“- Guram Tushishvili is suspended from participating in any international judo competition until the IJF Disciplinary Commission meets to give a final decision. Further investigations will be conducted to determine what happened.”
Riner has since advanced to the final after defeating Tajikistan’s Temu Rakhimov, setting the 35-year-old up to compete for a third gold medal.
