Guram Tushishvili has been banished from the Olympics, effective immediately, after kicking out at his opponent’s crotch during the quarterfinal round of the men’s 100kg+ judo competition. The reigning silver medalist from Tokyo will not get a chance to compete for a bronze medal as a result.
It was an ugly way to end a heavyweight battle between two of the sport’s greats.
Tushishvili hails from Georgia. The country, not the states. His opponent, Frenchman Teddy Riner, is a 6-foot-8, 330-pound Judo god. He won gold in Rio and London. He did not lose a match between 2010 and 2020.
His dominant run continued on Friday. Riner became the most decorated Olympic judoka of all time when a win over South Korea’s Kim Min-Jong gave him a record fourth judo gold and sixth medal overall.
Riner defeated Tushishvili in the quarterfinal before standing on top of the podium. It got ugly toward the end.
Tushishvili at one point kicked Riner right where the sun does not shine, on purpose.
The former was then unable to control his emotions after a final takedown guaranteed him the lost. He stood up off of the mat and pushed down on the latter’s head with an open hand.
Not only did the contest end in loss for Tushishvili, the officials awarded him a red card for his behavior. Although he was able to regain his composure and shook hands with the eventual gold medalist after the result was announced, it was the end of his Olympics.
The International Judo Federation issued a disqualification as result of the incident.
— International Judo FederationFollowing 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 behaviour of the Georgian judoka was against the ‘spirit of judo,’ 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.
Guram Tushishvili had the chance to essentially move through a loser’s bracket back onto the podium. That opportunity was taken from him by the IJF because he went against the spirit of judo.
A kick to the crotch and palm to the face will not be tolerated!