France celebrated a monumental gold medal victory at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, as a bold strategy defeated Fiji’s Olympic reign before nearly 70,000 ecstatic fans in the Stade de France on July 27.
The match was intensely competitive, tied 7-7 at halftime, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats. The turning point came in the second half when French star Antoine Dupont, who had not played in the first half, took the field.
Proving his prowess further, Dupont scored two tries and assisted a third in the last seven minutes, clinching a 28-7 victory over Fiji.
“It’s such a great honour to win this title and I have such great emotions. It’s hard to describe. It is such a great thing to achieve with these boys. It’s really top of the list,” Dupont said, expressing his elation. “We worked so hard for so long to do this. This is just the cherry on the cake.”
The French team and Dupont took several risks that ultimately paid off, with Dupont opting out of the Six Nations tournament to focus entirely on bringing Olympic gold to France for the first time in rugby.
This victory was a remarkable comeback story, as the French team had failed to qualify for Tokyo 2020. They returned determined to claim nothing but gold on home soil, with President Emmanuel Macron among the enthusiastic supporters.
As the final whistle blew, the crowd’s roar was deafening, marking the host nation’s first gold medal of the Games.