French heavyweight judoka Teddy Riner has failed in his bid to win a record equalling third straight Olympic gold after suffering a shock quarter-final defeat.
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Riner - one of judo's biggest names - lost to Tamerlan Bashaev of the Russian Olympic Committee team in the men's judo +100 kg division on Friday.
The 32-year-old had been aiming to match the record of claiming three consecutive Olympic gold held by Japanese great Tadahiro Nomura.
But Riner lost to Bashaev in 'golden score' sudden-death over-time.
The defeat followed a surprise loss last year for Riner, a 10-time world champion.
Riner lost for the first time in nearly a decade when Japan's Kokoro Kageura ended his 154-match winning streak, going back to 2010, in the Paris Grand Slam.
Riner will take part in a repechage contest at Tokyo, facing Rafael Silva of Brazil, but the best he can hope for is a bronze medal.
Earlier he had advanced into the quarter-finals with ease, taking out Austrian Stephan Hegyi in a round of 32 bout that lasted little more than 2 minutes.
In the round of 16, Riner beat Or Sasson of Israel.
Australian Associated Press
