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.
Tokyo has, in the space of a few hours, seen a garland of happiness stretched out. An endless farandole. Team sports come to illuminate the end of the Games for France, which sees its goal of medals move away (27 medals, this Thursday). Blue candles have been detached successively to light up the course of the men's handball team (victorious 27-23 over Egypt), which will play its fourth consecutive Olympic final. Then that of the Blues of basketball who, in Saitama, stopped Slovenia and its playing master, Luka Doncic (90-89), on a defensive inspiration from Nicolas Batum, the captain, who, faithful to a figure often attempted in the NBA, let slip Klemen Prepelic before countering him in a big way. To open wide the door to reunion with the United States.
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A remake of the epilogue of the 2000 Olympics.
"I heard applause, while we weren't playing, I thought it was the basketball players
", laughed Earvin Ngapeth, the offensive leader of the Blues in volleyball -ball, who completed the group shot and will live their first Olympic final, after having mastered the Argentines (3-0).
Apotheosis and epilogue, Laurent Tillie, their coach, who is about to bow out, sums up:
“It's magic, it's a beautiful story.
It's a little improbable to dream of playing an Olympic final at the end of the cycle. ”
Propelled to the final after a stunning tournament, neophyte at this level, French volleyball opened its eyes wide.
“It's a kid's dream. In 1996, I was at the campsite with my parents and I watched the Italy - Netherlands final, it was a crazy final and I'm here now. Right now my family is at the campsite, maybe that's a sign, I don't know. Anyway, I thought about it. Now we are in our dream, we are going to play and try to win, ”
said, to the angels, Benjamin Toniutti, the captain.
“We went through all the emotions during this tournament.
Eliminated, not eliminated, we don't know, we no longer know.
And to reach the final of the Games with this group… With some, we've been playing together for fifteen years or more, it's super beautiful.
It has always been a dream.
We talked about it when we were at the national center at the time, as cadets… We're there and we don't even realize it yet
, ”added Earvin Ngapeth.
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In all the rooms repainted in blue, ricochets of pride followed one another.
Each team having found the essential cement for the epics.
Stories that only belong to one group.
“
When I took on the France team
(in 2012),
the goal was to be part of the Olympic project. We must have the drool, the sacrifice, the common course, we must have the common history, a common objective. It is built, it cannot be decreed on the last day. We needed this. The team has grown. It was necessary to register in this project. The most important thing is to stay consistent, always aim for the podium, whatever the competition. The result, the management of this semi-final, it comes from all the history we had together. Of all the blows that we have taken, of all the finals that we have won or lost,
”summarized Laurent Tillie.
What these groups have in common is based on experiences built abroad (in NBA, Spain, Turkey and Greece for basketball players; in Norway, Spain, Poland or Hungary for handball players; in Poland, in Italy and Turkey for volleyball players).
Without ever cutting the thread that binds them to the selection of their young years, their dreams of apprentice champions.
The blue jersey, a magnet.
Pleasure.
A challenge.
A long story.
Earvin Ngapeth sums up:
“Handball players are our model in the history they have had.
We used it as an example.
It's an honor to be with them in the final as well.
We talk a lot with them in the village, we all support each other
.
"
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Laurent Tillie, delighted to finally see volleyball come and sit next to handball and volleyball, recalls: “
We started to have places of honor in 1985
(3rd),
1987
(2nd).
Handball had not arrived. Basketball, I'm not sure. We were a pioneer. But there is a huge difference between second or third place and first. The first place
(on the podium)
is the pinnacle. This team, the most beautiful volleyball team we have ever seen in France, by far, they are used to wanting to get on them. So an Olympic podium is extremely important to show the way for 2024. It was all scheduled for 2024.
"
To prolong the momentum when the Saturday fever begins. France - United States (4.30 a.m.) in basketball, France-Denmark (2 p.m.) in handball, France-Russia in volleyball (2.15 p.m.). The French Olympic team was looking for headliners. She found groups. Carried by the same dream. Here they are at the bottom of the last step. Team label ...
