Les boys in bleu have a bronze.
The French men's table tennis team captured the country's first-ever Olympic table tennis team medal on home soil Friday, after it dispatched the determined Japanese team, 3-2.
Alexis Lebrun and Simon Gauzy gave France its first point, winning their doubles match 3-1.
Young table tennis phenomenon Felix Lebrun followed up on the doubles performance with another point, edging past Tomokazu Harimoto, 3-2, to ensure a strong lead for the Frenchmen.
Japan wasn't quick to concede, and rallied in the next two matches to tie the points and push it to a deciding match.
Felix faced Hiroto Shinozuka in the fifth and final match, drawing a dramatic conclusion to an emotional match. At the fifth set match point, as Felix held 10-9, Hiroto saved the point and powered the game to 12-all. On the fourth match point, Felix finally delivered to capture the point and earn France the bronze. The French fans cheered in triumph for the countrymen.
The medal finish caps a fairytale run for the French in Paris and snapped the 24-year medal drought that had the country parched for the podium. At the helm of the victory, 17-year-old Felix fast-tracked to French table tennis stardom after he captured the bronze in the men's singles final earlier in the tournament. Felix's brother Alexis, equipped with power and youth, and two-time Olympian Gauzy rounded out the French roster and in just one Games, doubled France's table tennis medal count.
“It's incredible. Like a memory for all my life," Felix said. "So proud to win that medal with them. That was an incredible feeling that I will remember for sure.”
Felix's success at the South Paris Arena has made him the youngest athlete to win two medals in Paris.
“He's just amazing," Alexis said of Felix. "He's my brother and he's also the best player, after the Chinese (players). He's unbelievable. I'm just so happy to share this with him. We spend a lot of time together and we have a medal together. I've just... I don't have the words. It's just amazing.”