Pushed by 10,000 fans, they defended the title won three years ago in Tokyo with a sweep of Poland
France’s reign in Olympic men’s volleyball is set to continue for at least another four years after the Europeans triumphed in the Paris 2024 Games, successfully defending the title they won three years ago in Tokyo and sending a packed South Paris Arena 1 into an absolute frenzy on Saturday.
With the support of the majority of the 10,000 fans that created a fantastic atmosphere for the gold medal match, the French gave no chance to FIVB World Ranking leaders Poland, claiming the title with an unquestionable 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-23) victory.
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Les Bleus (The Blues, in French) became the third nation to successfully defend a men’s Olympic title and the first in 36 years – the former USSR did it first, winning in Tokyo 1964 and Mexico City 1968, while the United States did the same in Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988.
Now with two gold medals in Olympic history, France was also just the third men’s national team to enjoy the amazing experience of winning the Games at home, joining the former USSR (Moscow 1980), the United States (Los Angeles 1984) and Brazil (Rio 2016).
With ten members of the squad that won gold in Tokyo three years ago as part of the team in Paris, the French had ups and downs during pool play, but found their rhythm throughout a reverse sweep over Germany in the quarterfinals and then just became unstoppable, sweeping world champions Italy in the semifinals and World Ranking leaders Poland in the dispute for gold.
The massive victory over the Polish also moved the Olympic champions up to second place in the World Rankings, with 378.07. Poland continue in first place, with 401.31.
The gold medal match was watched by over 10,000 fans at the South Paris Arena 1
For Poland, the silver medal won in Paris was the second in their Olympic history, joining the gold they claimed in Montreal in 1976. Their campaign in France marked the first time they competed in the medal rounds since Moscow 1980, ending a 44-year wait for a semifinal appearance in the Games.
Opposite Jean Patry delivered an excellent performance against the Polish, leading France’s scoring efforts in the gold medal match with 17 points (14 kills, two blocks, one ace). Outside hitters Trévor Clévenot and Earvin Ngapeth also had excellent displays, with 11 and eight points, respectively. Brought off the bench to serve in the second and third sets, middle blocker Quentin Jouffroy was huge for the French, registering four clutch aces.
Opposite Jean Patry stepped up in the gold medal match against Poland
Poland had captain and veteran opposite Bartosz Kurek as their leading scorer with ten points (nine kills, one ace), followed by outside hitter Wilfredo Leon and middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski, with nine each.
The match stats show the French better in every scoring skill overcoming the Polish in kills (39 to 38), blocks (nine to four) and aces (eight to four) – they also got more points from opponent errors (19 to 16).
Women’s medal matches on Saturday and Sunday
With all three men’s medals now assigned (the United States won bronze on Friday), the Paris 2024 Games will hold the women’s decisive matches between Saturday and Sunday. Brazil and Türkiye will play for bronze on Saturday, at 17:15 local time (15:15 GMT), while Italy and the United States meet for gold on Sunday at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT).
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