Estanguet won three Olympic gold medals in the C1 event in
2000,
2004 and
2012. At the 2004 games in
Athens he won the gold medal after a late judges decision to award a 2-second penalty to
Michal Martikán, for which he was promoted to the rank of Commander in the , having been inducted as a ('Knight') in the order in 2000. Estanguet was the
flag-bearer for France at the
2008 Beijing Summer Olympics opening ceremony. He finished in the 9th position (out of 12 competitors; only the first eight would qualify for the final) in the semi-finals of the C1 event and was thus eliminated from the final. At the 2012 London Summer Olympics, he became the first French Olympian to win three gold medals in the same Olympic discipline. He was promoted to the rank of Officer of the
Legion of Honour on 31 December 2012, having been inducted as a in 2000. Estanguet won the overall
World Cup title in C1 in
2003 and
2004. He also won a total of 10 medals at the
European Championships (4 golds, 3 silvers and 3 bronzes). He announced his retirement on 30 November 2012. ==Post-racing career==