Pauletta Foppa: The French phenom with the whole world in her hands

When Pauletta Foppa stepped up and scored 7/7 in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic final to help France win their first ever women's handball gold medal, it just confirmed everything that the people who believed in her had been saying for years:

She's a once-in-a-generation talent.

Born in December 2000, Foppa became the youngest ever Frenchwoman to be crowned handball European champion when she was just 18 and by 20 she was already an Olympic gold medallist.

Now she looks set to dominate the sport for years to come.

But who is she, where does she come from and what has driven this prodigy to such precocious success?

Read more: Here is everything you need to know about the women's European Handball Championships.

Pauletta Foppa: Early years of a rapid rise

Born in Amilly, a small town in the Loiret valley a couple of hours drive from Paris, her handball journey began when she was 10 at the Villemandeur school in the suburb of Montargis (Loiret).

Tall for her age - she now stands at 1.77m - Foppa was a first pick for the school team but even if her coach at the time Joel Recoules could see the talent in her, he never thought she would go so far so fast.

"It was obvious that she would join the top level," he told Archyde.com, "but we were far from thinking that she would go so young in the France team. It is still very rare. “

Impressing at local and regional level, Foppa joined Fleury Loiret Handball and played Division 2 when she was just 16, despite playing against women twice her age she drove the team to promotion to D1.

Joining the national youth setup, in 2016 she finished top scorer and was voted best player and best pivot at the Mediterranean Confederations Championships in Montenegro.

A year later she shone once more in blue at the 2017 European Under-17 Championships in Slovakia where she was voted best pivot.

It was hardly a surprise that she was quickly called up to the A team by coach Olivier Krumbholz.

The record-breaking Pauletta Foppa

In 2018 top-tier French team Brest Bretagne saw her talent and brought her in, and by May 2021 she was key in helping Brest become the first French team to reach the Champions League final.

At Brest Foppa was surrounded by some greats of the sport like French national goalkeeper Cleopatre Darleux, Slovenian superstar Ana Gros - Champions League top scorer in 2021 - and Montenegrin left-back Djurdina Jaukovic.

One of Foppa's idols when she was younger was Swedish player Bella Gullden, and the Frenchwoman tells a funny story about the Brest center half at the time.

“As a youth player we were on a trip in Romania to see the daily life of a professional player”, Pauletta told handnews.fr.

“We were in Bucharest and I took a picture with her because I saw her as so strong, without knowing that two years later I was going to find myself in the same team. I found the photo and we laughed about it."

Foppa absorbed a lot from the great players surrounding her at Brest.

At the 2018 Euros in December she became the youngest Frenchwoman to participate in a senior international tournament at the age of 17 years and 359 days.

“We had been following her for a while”, Krumbholz declared to French outlet Telegram pre-tournament.

“I took a shot and I think I succeeded. She improves with each practice... She has a lot of skill, power and excellent hands."

Four goals and a winners' medal made her the youngest handball player in French history to win an international tournament.

Pauletta Foppa: The Future of French handball

Foppa is now at the heart of a French team that looks like it'll be the dominant force in women's international handball for years to come.

And with years of experience behind her, Foppa doesn't feel like the 'baby' of the team anymore.

“It is a nice feeling not to be the youngster anymore," she told EHF.com in 2021.

"It means that I am a real part of the teams I am playing in, I try not to think about it too much, though. I try my best to help my team when I am on the court and I leave the rest in the back of my mind.”

Her personal awards tell their own story:

• All-Star Pivot of the Youth European Championship 2017
• All-Star Pivot at the Olympic Games 2020
• All-Star Pivot of the EHF Champions League 2021
• Best Young Player of the EHF Champions League 2022

When she was nominated for the 2021 IHF Female World Player of the Year alongside some stellar names like Norwegian stars Stine Oftedal and Kari Brattset Dale, teammate Grace Zaadi and eventual winner Sandra Toft, it's another sign of the immense talent she has.

That was when she was 21. It's frightening to think that she hasn't even reached her best yet.

The future looks bright for French handball, and much of it is thanks to the rise of Pauletta Foppa.