Paris 2024 Olympics: Game-changing Antoine Dupont inspires France to fairytale first gold of home Games
As Edith Piaf’s iconic track ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’ rang around the Stade de France before the medal ceremony, Antoine Dupont certainly was not regretting anything.
Less than a year ago, the French rugby star made the switch to rugby sevens, to the frustration and confusion of many. After all, he is a prolific and established player in French rugby union, named the World Player of the Year in 2021.
But Dupont had a date with destiny at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
A shot at gold at a home Games was too good of an opportunity for the scrum-half to turn down, as he spent 2024 playing rugby sevens and working towards Paris.
With that shot came expectation and the weight of a nation upon his shoulders, but Dupont came in with confidence, experience and super-star quality. No name got a louder cheer than his at each and every mention over the stadium speakers.
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 24: Antoine Dupont #11 of Team France runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Aaron Cummings #1 of Team United States during the Men's Rugby Sevens Pool C Group match between France and United States on Day -2 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on July 24, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The final day of competition made for a script too good to be written at the Stade de France: first up, a semi-final with South Africa. France lost to the Springboks at their home Rugby World Cup in 2023.
Dupont came off the bench at half-time with the game goalless, and though they went behind early into the second half, he inspired his teammates to 19 points without reply, at the heart of every move to book their place in the gold medal match.
A formidable opponent lay in wait though. Fiji had never lost a game in Olympic men’s rugby sevens, including a 19-12 win over France in the pool stage two days earlier.
Backed by a sellout Stade de France of almost 70,000 fans, everything was in France’s favour. But talk about the script; Fiji roared into the lead inside 90 seconds, silencing the home crowd with their rampant rugby.
Dupont was sat on the bench at this point, composed and waiting for his moment to come. France equalised before the break and Dupont readied himself, warming up vigorously on the touchline before taking centre stage in the half-time huddle.
Antoine Dupont and his France teammates were inspired by the crowd in men's rugby sevens final
Seven minutes to write history – Dupont only needed 21 seconds.
From the kick-off, he won the ball and drove down the line, powered by his tenacity and energised by the fanatic French fans. Moments earlier, there were nervous faces everywhere, but as Dupont burst through and set up Aaron Grandidier Nkanang for the try, the sea of blue, white and red erupted.
Just as the Parisian sky began to clear up, Dupont and France found their rhythm and did not look back.
Dupont stole the show with two terrific tries in the space of two minutes. For the first, his touch-and-go was followed by a ferocious drive through several Fiji players. He made sure of gold with his second try right at the death, winning the ball from the line-out and seeing the ball and Olympic title over the line.
France’s first gold medal of their home Games came in the most perfect way possible, in a sport so ingrained into their culture at their national stadium in the capital. This was better than any French fan could have hoped for, more poetic than anything they could have written. And of course, the author of the victory was Dupont.
“It’s such a great honour to win this title and I have such great emotions," Dupont said after the match. "It’s hard to describe. It is such a great thing to achieve with these boys. It’s really top of the list. I just want to share this with my teammates. We worked so hard for so long to do this. This is just the cherry on the cake.”
In both the semi-final and the final, Dupont came on with the scoreline level. In both the semi-final and the final, France emerged victorious, Dupont the star of the show.
Talk about an impact, not just in these games isolated, but on the state of rugby sevens as a whole. In less than a year, he has taken a promising squad to Olympic glory, and on French soil of all places.
Dupont got the loudest cheers when his name was announced in the medal ceremony, the longest handshake from the medal bearer and the biggest ovation in the Stade de France. He had done what he had set out to do, etching his name into Olympic history.
The fairytale was complete, France were Olympic men’s rugby seven champions, and Dupont had inspired a nation. How could there be any regrets?