2024-01-10 08:15:17
Laurent Tillie, coach of the Bleus du volleyball during their Olympic title in 2020; table tennis players Jean-Philippe Gatien and Patrick Chila; Laura Flessel, five-time Olympic medalist; Camille Lacourt, 5 times world swimming champion; Pascal Gentil, the one who popularized taekwondo thanks to his two Olympic bronze medals; Charline Picon, Olympic gold medalist in windsurfing in 2016, or even Émilie Le Pennec, little heroine of the Athens Games in 2004, the professional cyclist Guillaume Martin and the former tennis player François Jauffret… All will carry the Olympic flame, which from May 8 to July 26 will crisscross France. With one particularity: they will be the captains of the 69 collective relays, the main principles of which Paris 2024 unveils this Wednesday.
While 10,000 bearers, torch in hand, will take turns for two and a half months to bring the flame, lit in Olympia, to the cauldron, Paris 2024 is innovating by offering collective relays, each made up of 24 participants (but only one porter, the captain). Each of the 34 Olympic and Paralympic sports federations makes up two relays, the 69th being that of the Tahitian Surfing Federation.
“The collective relays are an opportunity for them to highlight the licensees, to promote clubs and sports associations throughout France and to disseminate strong images of their sport in iconic places along the route,” explains we are in Paris 2024. Among the torchbearers, well-known or anonymous athletes, but also coaches, managers or volunteers from associations.
Individual carriers revealed next Monday
Collective relays will be organized throughout France. Thus, 24 skaters will stroll through the streets of Bordeaux (Gironde) and Blois (Loir-et-Cher), the cliff of Sisteron (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) will be taken over by the Climbing Federation, the castle park of Compiègne (Oise) by the archers of the Archery Federation, while the B-Boys and B-Girls of breaking, a new Olympic discipline, will be in Troyes (Aube) and Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis) .
Some images will be completely crazy. The fencers will be in Lascaux (Dordogne) and Guadeloupe, Laura Flessel’s native island; cyclists will ride at Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche) and Mont Ventoux (Vaucluse); the riders will race on the beach of Omaha Beach (Calvados), the sailing specialists will be in Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée) and Gruissan (Aude) and the surfers in La Torche (Finistère), Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques ) and on Teahupoo beach (Tahiti).
The collective relays will take place almost at each stage of the torch relay, from May 10 in Var (with a collective from the French Disabled Sports Federation) to July 25, in Seine-Saint-Denis. Paris 2024 will reveal the identity of individual carriers, including many anonymous, next Monday.
#Paris #Olympic #Games #Flessel #Lacourt #Gentil #torchbearers #Olympic #flame