Paris 2024 Olympics: France celebrates Antoine Dupont after rugby redemption
Antoine Dupont was simply inspirational as France picked up their first gold medal of Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the Stade de France, with a 28-7 win over Fiji in the men’s rugby sevens.
With an Olympic gold medal now sitting alongside his Six Nations title with France 15s, two European Rugby Champions Cups, and four Top 14 victories with club Toulouse, the 27-year-old is now widely regarded as one of the country’s best-ever athletes.
But Dupont doesn’t see it that way.
Posting on Instagram after collecting his gold medal the Frenchman simply wrote: “Thank you team for hosting the rookie.”
When asked about being regarded as one of the best players of all time, he responded humbly.
"It is always a pleasure to hear words like that - but honestly I don't spend a lot of time thinking about that," he told the media.
"I am still young and have a lot of work still to do."
Young, yes, but he has already captured the heart of so many of his compatriots.
Fans remained in their seats at Stade de France long after the Olympic medal ceremony, enjoying a choreographed dance routine from Dupont and his teammates to Will Smith’s “Miami".
And the party didn't stop there.
Celebrations continued at Club France where, as reported by Huffington Post, Dupont channelled his inner rockstar and crowd surfed before joining his the team gave another rendition of their Miami dance at France TV's studio.
Antoine Dupont compared to Zinedine Zidane
Dupont shared a glimpse into his personal celebrations, posting an Instagram Story that showed him on Facetime with legendary French footballer, Zinédine Zidane, whom he has been compared to by some French media.
"His virtuosity but also his notoriety and his sympathy have earned him comparisons… to Zidane," wrote 20minutes. With the footballer such a prominent legend in France, the comparison speaks volumes on the rugby player's achievements.
Dupont offered further insights as to the success he and his teammates were able to achieve at Paris 2024.
"When you get into the Olympic Village, you're taken by the Olympic spirit, the patriotism goes up," he told Eurosport.
"We wanted to launch the Olympic Games the best way possible. It was perfectly done by the opening ceremony on Friday, but we also had a role to play."
In 2024, Dupont gambled on his career with a risky move.
After captaining his nation to a heartbreaking quarter-final loss to South Africa in the 2023 Rugby World Cup on home soil, the 2021 World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year decided to skip the Six Nations in order to concentrate on sevens and prepare for the Olympic Games. It was a decision that was met with mixed reactions at home.
With the benefit of hindsight, there is now no doubt as to whether he made the correct call.
Having failed to even qualify for men’s sevens at Tokyo 2020, France are the Olympic gold medallists just three years later - and few would argue against Dupont’s influence on this squad.
The 27 year-old, dubbed by many as Paris’ posterboy of 2024, was pivotal in both of their tournament victories leading up to the Games.
Then the Dupont story came full circle, as France defeated their old foes South Africa in the semi-finals of the Olympics.
His final act was to come off the bench to inspire an emphatic win against reigning champions Fiji in the final, and complete his rugby redemption.