Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “Send positive signals to the entire French delegation”, Antoine Dupont’s challenge

Antoine Dupont focused and determined before one of the biggest challenges of his career. MAXPPP – BASTIEN ARBERET

The Toulousain, leader of the French sevens rugby team, is impatient before the Blues enter the fray against the United States this Wednesday, July 24. In front of the media, he assured that his team was ready.

How were your first steps in the Olympic Village?

It was a lot of pride to say to ourselves that we had the chance to participate in the Olympic Games, to be able to enter this legendary village, to rub shoulders with all nationalities, all sporting disciplines. We were welcomed at the bottom of our building by all the members of the different French teams, with Jackson Richardson leading the way, who gave us a nice speech upon our arrival. It really pushed us into the competition. It’s a lot of pride to say that we are now part of the Olympic family, even if no one on this team will be satisfied with’ rsquo;having just set foot in the village.

That means you're aiming for the gold medal?

We are going to give our all for this. We prepared well in advance for this ambition of bringing home the gold medal. This is a hard-working team and has already been rewarded with two tournament titles.

There will be the pressure of being the first French competing in these Games ?

We don’t think about it too much. We feel ready. We know that in rugby sevens everything can very quickly go one way or the other. We are working on contagion effects to take ownership of the game project. We hope to launch the Olympics in the best possible way and send positive signals to the entire delegation.

Why did you embark on this Olympic challenge ?

I wanted to be there because it’s the Games and because it’s Paris! I think this challenge came at the right time because I was getting into a form of routine at the club, I needed something fresh and new to nourish me as a player and as a team. ;man. I think the first time I mentioned it with the different staff was at the time of the 2022 Six Nations Tournament, when we had won the Grand Slam. I started talking about it to the management of the French XV, then to my club obviously. It had been a topic of conversation because I knew that I was going to have to benefit from availability slots, which made me miss a Tournament. But to give myself the means to achieve this immense goal, I had to make sacrifices. I wanted to spend time with this team. I had to get familiar with it and I knew it would take time. The project was built with the Fédé and the club in an intelligent way so that I could perform on both levels.

How did you acclimatize to rugby sevens?

I integrated a lot of things. I learned to better manage spaces, situations, my energy. I was lucky to join a collective that was already performing. They welcomed me with open arms, giving me a lot of advice, reassuring me. I asked them a lot of questions at the beginning, I was a little lost on my placements. They were indulgent with me. I tried to bring my experience, the way I train every day, my demands, my ambition, even if they already had a lot of them. In the end, there were quite a few similarities between what I was feeding and what they were conveying on a daily basis.

You had lunch this Tuesday with Emmanuel Macron. What did he tell you?

To give it our all, to bring the best of ourselves. His visit shows the importance of the Olympic Games.

Which athletes made you want to participate in the Games?

We all have memories of the Olympic Games. It's a legendary competition that has made generations of sports fans dream. We started supporting disciplines whose rules we didn't even know half. All it took was for a Frenchman to be in it for us to start applauding. My first memories must be from 2004. A striking image was Laure Manaudou's first title, even though I wasn't necessarily a swimming fan. Usain Bolt also left his mark on a whole generation with the excellence he brought to the track.

What do you think of what happened in Argentina during the French team's tour ?

It definitely had an impact on us, they're still teammates. We're sorry about what happened there.