Christophe Dominici, a rugby star and French celebrity, committed suicide. A three-time participant in the 1999 World Cup and vice-champion of the world, he ended his life at the age of 48 by jumping from the roof of an abandoned building in a park on the outskirts of Paris.
Christophe Dominici rugby star and French celebrity in shots from 2007 Video: Associated Press
According to Le Parisien, Dominici’s wife soon arrived at the scene of the tragedy, and she set out to find her husband when he did not return from a walk. However, due to the shock she suffered, the police could not hear her.
Dominici was one of the most famous athletes in France. His death was even announced in parliament, and deputies honored Dominici with a standing ovation during the session.
Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer announces in Parliament a report on the death of Christopher Dominici:
In a biography published in 2007, Dominici admitted that he had been abused in his youth and had been battling depression since he was fourteen, after the death of his 24-year-old sister Pascale, in whom he was much fixated.
A native of Toulon, he shone from a young age not only among rugby “hooks”, but also as a football player. He even trained with AS Monaco, where he befriended Lilian Thuram, a later world and European champion and one of the biggest stars in world football.
However, Dominici preferred the ball. He established himself in his home RC Toulonnaise, after four successful years he transferred to the Stade Francais in 1997. He spent eleven seasons at the Grand Club of Paris and celebrated five championship titles.
He made his French national team debut in 1998, and a year later contributed to the elimination of favored New Zealand in the semifinals of his most famous five in his semifinals. However, in the fight for the trophy, “Les Bleus” lost to Australia.
The famous Dominici five, thanks to which France turned the match with New Zealand at the 1999 World Cup:
Dominici also played in two other championships, at which his team did not always cross the semifinals and subsequently did not even succeed in the fight for bronze. Just after the match for 3rd place in 2007 he said goodbye to the national team jersey, dressed him in 67 duels.
A year later, he ended his active career and joined the Stade Francais coaching team. He was considered one of the sexiest men in France, and thanks to his celebrity status, he also took part in one of the popular television dance competitions.
Dominici also worked as a rugby expert for television and radio. At the beginning of this year, he was behind the offer of a consortium from the United Arab Emirates, which intended to take over the indebted team in Béziers and build a large club out of it. But the sports authorities did not allow the deal, which Dominici found difficult to bear, according to his loved ones.
“Rugby allowed me to understand a lot of things – respect for life, people and myself, along with values such as humility and struggle. I used to be aggressive, I gave aggression to the team. Now I am much wiser and more mature,” he said in 2009. interview for Le Monde.
However, even that did not deter him from his fateful decision.
“A small figure, but a titan on the field. We’ll never forget you.” So the New Zealand All Blacks said goodbye to their big rival on their official Twitter:
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