Much-hyped world champion Teddy Riner needed the extra golden score period to sneak past Anis Chedly of Tunisia in his first bout of the men's +100kg judo category at the Beijing Olympics on Friday.
The teenage Frenchman has already become a superstar in the sport after a dream 2007 where he lifted both the European and world crowns.
But Chedly, a former winner of the prestigious Paris Super World Cup - which Riner added to his resume in February - proved an awkward foe and after the regulation five minute bout ended there had been no score.
The fight went into a period of golden score and a minute in Riner finally found a break-through, throwing Chedly with osoto-gari (major outer reap) for a minor yuko score.
Of the other favourites Japan's Satoshi Ishii was the most impressive, throwing big Italian Paolo Bianchessi for the maximum ippon with a delectable uchi-mata (inner thigh throw).
Russian Tamerlan Tmenov, the silver medallist in Athens, was made to work hard against 2005 open-weight world champion Dennis van Geest of the Netherlands, winning by a waza-ari (half point) from a tomoe-nage (stomach throw).
In the women's +78kg Tong Wen of China made short work of Russia's Tea Donguzashvili, throwing her for ippon with a harai-makikomi (sweeping winding throw).
Tong is expected to meet reigning champion Maki Tsukada of Japan in the evening final.
