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France's women's basketball team is into to the final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where it faces Team USA in the gold medal game on Sunday. The French are into the final for the first time and has a golden opportunity for glory as they chase their first gold in the event at home.
While credit must be given to the roster leading their charge on the court, it's also important to note the coaching group that has played a crucial role in their bid to make history.
Leading the coaching staff as head coach is Senegalese-French basketball icon Jean-Aime Toupane. He's assisted by the expertise of three assistant coaches: David Gautier, Gregory Halin and Catherine Melain.
Toupane took over Team France's responsibilities in October 2021 after the exit of their previous coach Valerie Garnier, who guided the team to a bronze-medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
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According to French Basketball Federation president Jean-Pierre Siutat, Toupane was brought to help win the championship at home.
“The French women’s team is taking a new direction with the appointment of Jean-Aime Toupane at its head,” Jean-Pierre Siutat said in an official statement. “We are convinced that he will be able to lead Le Bleues to the highest level, up to our ambitions, three years before the Olympic Games in Paris.
"Jean-Aime has experience, a perfect knowledge of the top level and a culture of winning - essential for such a position. He seemed to us to be a very good profile to succeed Valerie Garnier, whom I would like to congratulate once again on her magnificent record."
Closer look at France Women's Basketball team coach Jean-Aime Toupane
Jean-Aime Toupane represented the Senegal national team as a player in the 1978 World Cup in Manila before migrating to France and turning pro. He started his basketball career in France as a player and played with the likes of Monaco, Mulhouse and Gravelines.
Toupane transitioned into a coaching role in 1997 as a player-coach and took on coaching roles for various division clubs before earning an assistant coach position with the French men’s national team at the 2005 European Championships.
Toupane took on the role of head coach for the French men’s U20 national team in 2009 and led them to the U20 European Championship in 2010, runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2012, and third-place finishes in 2011 and 2017.
Jean-Aime Toupane moved into coaching the French women's basketball team in 2021. Under him, the French team won bronze at the EuroBasket Women 2023 and now have the chance to win gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics at home.
