France’s Olympic poster boy fired the host nation to their first gold medal of the games after scoring two tries in the rugby sevens final.
The 27-year-old starred in the 28-7 victory over Fiji at Stade de France on Saturday.
In the semi-final, Dupont helped France exact revenge on South Africa following their defeat against the Springboks in the Rugby World Cup final last year.
Dupont, who captained France at the World Cup, was left devastated by the loss which like the Olympics, took place on French soil.
Having believed he let his nation down in that tournament, Dupont has shown incredible mental and physical strength to switch from the 15-a-side game to sevens and drag himself back to the top of the world game.
And he has now scooped the Olympic gold medal, where he helped his side come from 7-0 down to emerge victorious.
It’s already been an unprecedented year for a man who rival players and coaches consider to be a ‘freak’ and a ‘Martian’ due to his unique combination of strength, vision, skill and pace.
His individual brilliance was showcased in the 26-14 Olympic Games quarter-final win over Argentina, where he conjured up a solo try to send France into the semi-final.
The 27-year-old is proving it is possible to switch sports, while also excelling in 15s, and a gold medal has shown that Dupont was right to stand down as France captain in this year’s Six Nations to chase Olympic glory.
So far in 2024 Dupont has won:
- European 15s Player of the Year
- Top14 Winner (Player of the Match in final for Toulouse)
- Champions Cup Winner (Player of the Match in final for Toulouse)
- SVNS Rookie of the Year Award
- SVNS World Series Champion
- France’s first 7s title in 19 years
- Rugby sevens Olympic gold medal
And judging from the elation from his face after scoring each of his tries, the decision was one of the best he has ever made.
Leading into the Olympics, Dupont said: “For any sports fan, the Olympics are still mythical, the Holy Grail of sport.”
France rugby’s Zinedine Zidane
Former Ireland international and current La Rochelle coach has seen Dupont at close quarters.
“There’s no one in any team like Dupont, he’s too good.
“I have analysed him in depth and you try to understand and coach how you can limit him but he becomes such an enigma. An anomaly, when he doesn’t have the ball.
“He is beyond a freak for me. He would deflate a nation. He is Zidane for this team.”
His individual brilliance combined with patriotism and a relentless desire for greatness is why fellow rugby stars are lining up to pay tribute to Dupont.
“You think back to 2016 when there were conversations about all these 15s players; your Ben Smiths, your Sonny Bill Williams’ and everyone that was trying to have a crack at going to the Rio Olympics,” former All Black Israel Dagg told SENZ Breakfast.
“It’s not as easy as you probably think. Antoine Dupont is making it look relatively easy but the other players, they struggle, man.
“It is totally different. The body has to be in different shape, you have to lose a hell of a lot of muscle and body fat to play that sport.
“I know Antoine Dupont has made it look easy but he’s an absolute freak. But it ain’t that easy.”
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News Summary:
- Antoine Dupont cements place as France rugby’s answer to Zinedine Zidane with gold medal after World Cup heartbreak
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.