Judo giant Riner vows to celebrate, but not too much

At just 27 years of age, judo colossus Teddy Riner is happy to see his trophy cabinet full to bursting point -- as long as his waistline doesn't suffer the same fate.

French star Riner was far from his explosive best in the heavyweight competition in Rio, with even Japanese legend Yasuhiro Yamashita, a known admirer of Riner and 1984 Los Angeles heavyweight champion himself, expressing his disappointment in the fare on show last Sunday.

But Riner still won with plenty to spare, beating Japan's Hisayoshi Harasawa on penalties in the final.

He now has two Olympic golds, eight world titles and five European championships to his name after dominating the division since 2007 when he won his first world -- in Rio.

"I'm happy with myself and proud of what I've done. I'm proud of having experienced great moments in Rio for the third time," said Riner, who also won his sixth world title in 2013 in the Brazilian city.

Riner is no longer thinking about his next challenge or goal.

He merely wants to return home to Guadeloupe, the French overseas territory in the Caribbean, to relax and celebrate.

"I need to breathe, I need to get away from it, take some time for myself, take a break.

"I really do because this Olympic cycle was difficult, tiring and very stressful."

Over the last couple of years, Riner's body has suffered, going under the knife to fix problems in his elbow and shoulder.

Now he wants to spend time with his family -- he has a two-year-old son, Eden -- and friends, but he says he won't be making the same mistake he did after his 2012 Olympic success in London.

- 'I'll enjoy it' -

"All my friends are waiting for just one thing, that I come home so we can celebrate this," added the 2.04m (6ft 8in) tall athlete.

"We haven't really had that opportunity during the Olympic cycle, there were world championships every year.

"I want to travel, take time for myself, my family, my friends."

But he added he won't be staying off the mat for too long.

"I love judo, I love this sport, it's part of me," he said.

"I'll certainly do some judo or some training during my holidays.

"The last Olympics in 2012 did me a lot of harm. I put on more than 20kg so I'll try not to do that again this time. I'll enjoy it, but not too much."

The 140kg fighter might not be setting immediate objectives but he does already have one eye on his future beyond being an athlete, and that's thanks to his mother Marie-Pierre.

"I was a little youngster that my mother took to training every day," he said.

"I'd love to be that guy who takes little children to competitions and to try to help them realise their dreams.

"But I tink I'd be too tough with them, I'm demanding, very demanding. With me it would be up at 6am and three or four training sessions a day."