GIANT Olympian Teddy Riner has announced that he is running for president in France.

Riner, who has won FIVE Olympic gold medals in judo and stands a towering 6ft 8in tall, says he wants to bring “ambition” back to the nation.

The 37-year-old is used to chucking opponents around the mat but he intends to throw his hat in the ring ahead of April’s elections, which will decide France‘s next president.

Incumbent leader Emmanuel Macron, 48, is ineligible to stand again, having served two consecutive terms.

Riner, 37, told Le Parisien: “France is a great country. It has allowed me to become the person I am today and has given me the opportunity to dream big.

“Today, that’s what’s missing. That ambition is gone; that hope is gone.

“I see a divide in society across the country, but I do not accept what I hear in the mouths of young people, that it is difficult today to imagine a future.

“That is why I decided to commit myself, alongside the French people, and to become a candidate for the presidency.”

Riner was born in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe before moving to France with his family when he was a baby.

He has scooped three individual Olympics golds in the men’s +100kg category and two more in the mixed team event.

Riner’s first Olympic triumph came at the London Games in 2012 before adding a second in Rio de Janeiro four years later, a third in Tokyo and then two more at his home Games in Paris.

With a staggering 12 World Championships golds also on his CV, Riner is a celebrated figure in France.

And he hinted at a move into politics last year, saying: “I am a citizen above all, not just a sportsperson.

“If tomorrow I enter politics, it wouldn’t be to be a minister, it would be to change things. The best role would be president.”

Riner insists his presidential bid does not signal the end of his judo career, and that he fully intends to qualify for the LA Games in 2028.

The Olympics has been a defining event for Riner, who was inspired by Paris hosting the sporting showdown in 2024.

He said: “I saw a whole country come together, proud, happy.

“I thought to myself, what we have been able to do for 15 days, we must be able to do for the country.”