Paris 2024 Olympics: “There were seven, eight, nine of us on the field”, “it's going to be a mess tonight”, the reactions of the golden French volleyball players

Les Français ont fait barrage à la Pologne pour conserver leur titre. MAXPPP – RITCHIE B. TONGO

Nicolas Le Goff, Benjamin Toniutti and the French volleyball team were moved after this second consecutive gold medal, won on Saturday August 10 against Poland (3-0).

Nicolas Le Goff, center of the French team

“Mission accomplished. I have no words. If we had been told a week ago, ten days ago, that we were going to play a semi-final and a final like that against Italy and then against Poland, I would have had a hard time believing it. I think we all knew we were capable of it, but to do it once, to do it twice like that, it's extraordinary.

Tokyo is also the first. With the course we had in Japan, ending up winning the gold medal was also incredible. The two medals have totally different flavors, but both are equally good.

The public? When there are some points that are a bit of a rally and we come back, catch up or get back in front, you feel the ground shake. It gives you incredible strength. There weren't six of us on the field. There were seven, eight, nine of us. There were, I don't know, twelve thousand of us.

What we have planned for tonight? Nothing at all. It's going to be a mess (laughs)."

Benjamin Toniutti, passer and captain of the French team

"It’s hard, but we will get there little by little. It's hard to find the words because when I was a kid, I watched the 1996 Atlanta Games on TV at the campsite, and Andrea Giani lost in the final against Holland. I already had a dream of playing in the Olympic Games. In Rio, you fall and it’s hard. And in Tokyo, you win. You don't really know where you are, but you know that you have the chance, three years later, to be directly qualified and to play the Games at home. And winning them is a feeling that is increased tenfold. You don't even really know how to handle this."

Earvin Ngapeth, attacking receiver for the Blues

“We played a great game collectively, like in the semi-final, confirms the patriarch. To win against Italy or Poland you have to play the perfect game. That's what we do, carried by an incredible crowd. As soon as you hold a team like we did from the start, when it pushes behind, it's very complicated (for the opponents). We shouldn't have made a mistake, we knew that. It's an emotion that's difficult to explain. It has never happened to me and it will never happen again.”

Jean Patry, point guard of the French team

“I think we haven't come down, that's for sure. We'll realize it little by little. We're just coming out of an incredible moment, a historic moment for us, for our sport. And a moment of pure pleasure. I think that tonight, we had a great time playing this match. Not to mention the context, not to mention the sport. I think we just had fun playing. That the public enjoyed supporting us throughout the competition. And I believe that when you enjoy doing what you do, you do it well. And that was the case throughout the competition. I'm happy about that, because it was a real moment of communion with the French public. They helped us get this title. And once again, everyone took turns taking the keys to the truck. That's our strength.”