French Olympic icon Teddy Riner announces presidential run – POLITICO

France’s newest presidential contender didn’t come out of left field. He climbed off the tatami mat. 

Five-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka Teddy Riner announced Monday on social media and in an interview with French daily Le Parisien that he is running for his country’s presidency next spring. 

“Fighting has always been a part of me. I know what it’s like to fight, to fall down and to always get back up,” Riner said in a video on X announcing his bid. “France doesn’t need a professional politician who recites talking points and spends all day bickering. It needs common sense, firmness, justice and a government that sets things right.”