The French team of Antoine Dupont and Paulin Riva won the first French title of these Games, but above all their first Olympic medal, on Saturday evening at the Stade de France.
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They called themselves gold diggers, but they finally struck gold. In a Stade de France in meltdown, the players of the French rugby 7s team went to win the first Olympic medal in their history, Saturday July 27, at the end of a tournament marked by their impressive rise to power. Now Olympic champions, they are entering the history of French and world rugby.
The culmination of a long quest
At home, they found all the right ingredients to win the most beautiful medal, after a somewhat thwarted start to the story with the Games. “The guys said it in the locker room: seven years ago, they were the 13th team in the world; in 2020, they didn’t qualify for Tokyo, and now we’re bringing their Olympic victory back to them, to all the old guys, to all those who worked hard all this time.”exclaimed a euphoric Andy Timo on the edge of the field.
Rugby 7s (M) – Final: Antoine Dupont finishes the job!
The French star scored twice in the last action of the match and made it 28-7! France is the Olympic champion and wins the first gold medal for the French delegation in these Games!
“It’s a goal that we set for ourselves as a team. Now, to get to the end is really crazy.”admitted a little later Aaron Grandidier, author of an excellent tournament, who admitted having “cried all the fluid in his body”.
The kings of discipline dethroned
The title has an even more particular resonance in view of the course and the identity of the opponent dominated in the final, the Fiji Islands, terror of an Olympic tournament over which they reigned unchallenged since the arrival of rugby at the Games in 2016. On Thursday, the men of the Pacific had won the first clash between the two teams, in the pools (19-12).
“We have revenge to take. It’s their medal, we would like to get it back from them here in Paris.”Andy Timo had confidently stated just after the semi-final. Actions followed words, and the Blues inflicted on the Fijians the first defeat in their history at the Games, despite being a try behind. “I“I felt a serenity in the team, even after conceding the first try”assured Aaron Grandidier in the stands of the Stade de France, for whom “state of mind” made the difference.
A fervor that will remain in the memories
Above all, thanks to the collective fervour that accompanied this seven from France, the memory of this gold medal should remain in people’s memories for a while. Throughout the three days that this Olympic tournament lasted, the public responded, from the 69,000 people who filled the stands on Wednesday to the 130,000 cumulatively on Thursday, record attendances for the discipline.
On Saturday again, they pushed in an electric atmosphere. “I have rarely heard an atmosphere like this at the Stade de France. Over the three days of the tournament, people showed up and really made some noise. They wanted to support us, and we wanted to give back to them.”savored Antoine Dupont on France 2. “T“This whole audience is magnificent. We’re at home, damn it.”exulted Andy Timo, not far away, a beatific smile on his lips. At home, they have written a piece of their history in letters of gold.