Judo-France's Riner collects record-extending 11th world title

French heavyweight judoka Teddy Riner collected a record-extending 11th world championship individual title on Saturday in Doha, beating Russian Inal Tasoev in the men's +100kg final.

It was an auspicious showing for the 34-year-old a little more than a year ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, after Riner suffered a shock defeat in the 2020 Tokyo quarter-finals while on the hunt for a third straight Olympic gold in the +100kg division.

Riner, who helped France to collect the inaugural mixed team event gold at the Tokyo Olympics, overcame 2021 European champion Tasoev with a waza ari in a repeat of their 2021 Doha Masters final.

It was the 2.03-metre titan's first world gold in six years after he opted out of the 2018 and 2019 editions and withdrew from the 2022 championships with an ankle injury.