Unstoppable France secure second straight Olympic gold in Paris

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 vast 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.

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).

"Three weeks ago, we couldn't believe things were going to happen like this," middle blocker Barthélémy Chinenyeze remarked. "We were so lucky to have the chance of playing the Olympics at home as the last time Paris hosted it was 100 years ago. We were just very happy to play here and to get to win our second Olympic title in front of our fans was just amazing. The atmosphere was incredible since the first day and we enjoyed it so much. We played very well in the last two matches and it was just the perfect ending for an amazing tournament for us."

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.

"Germany put us in difficult moments and we had to find solutions," outside hitter Trévor Clévenot reacted. "I felt that during that comeback we started playing more aggressively and got into a better spirit. That match against Germany pushed us to reach this level and we continued playing amazing volleyball until the end of the tournament."

The massive victory over the Polish also moved the Olympic champions up to second place in the World Rankings, with 378.07 points. Poland continue in first place, with 401.31.

The title was also emotional to head coach Andrea Giani, who took control of the team in 2022 having three Olympic medals as a player (silver in Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004 and bronze in Sydney 2000) and another one as a coach (London 2012) with his native Italy and now finally got to win gold.

I'm very happy, it was my dream," he added. "I've been waiting for this medal for 35 years."

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.

"This medal means a lot to us," middle blocker Jakub Kochanowski reflected. "It's definitely a historic achievement for Poland. Right after losing the final it's hard to smile and we certainly need time to process this defeat, but from my experience, I know the longer this medal hangs on your necks, the more joy it gives us. In sport sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, but we should be proud of what we've achieved."

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 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.

"The fans were an amazing weapon for us here," Patry commented. "They pushed us in every match and the atmosphere gave us a lot of energy to play. In the final, I think that our defensive system worked very well, which gave us the confidence to win. We have an amazing feeling and a lot of emotions now, it's just hard to explain them. Winning two in a row is incredible and to do it at home, it's unbelievable, I have no words."

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 Kochanowski, with nine each.

"I think day by day we will appreciate this silver medal more and more," outside hitter Aleksander Śliwka said. "When we come back to Poland and cool down, we will be extremely proud because the number of obstacles and problems we had during this tournament and the amount of hard work we put in through all those years were both immense. In the last three years, everything was oriented to play as well as possible here at this tournament and our team played amazingly. We reached the Olympic final in which the opponent was just better than us, so big congratulations to France."

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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