Olympic Games 2024 in Paris: Flesselles, Lacourt, Gentil… We know the first torchbearers of the Olympic flame

Laurent Tilly, coach of the Bleus du volleyball team during their Olympic title in 2020; table tennis players Jean-Philippe Gatien and Patrick Chila; Laura Flessel, five-time Olympic medalist; Camille Lacour, five-time world champion swimmer; Pascal Gentil, the one who popularized taekwondo with his two Olympic bronze medals; Charlene Picon, Olympic gold medalist in windsurfing 2016, or even Emilie Le Pennec, the little heroine of the Athens 2004 Games, professional cyclist Guillaume Martin and former tennis player François Joffrey… They will all carry the Olympic flame, which from May 8 to On July 26 he will cross France. With one peculiarity: they will be captains of 69 collective relay races, the basic principles of which Paris 2024 will present this Wednesday.

While 10,000 torch bearers will take turns carrying the flame lit at Olympia to the cauldron over two and a half months, Paris 2024 is innovative, offering collective relays each consisting of 24 participants (but only one porter). , captain). Each of the 34 Olympic and Paralympic sports federations hosts two relays, the 69th of which is the Tahitian Surfing Federation relay.

“Collective relays are an opportunity for them to draw attention to the licensees, promote clubs and sports associations throughout France and spread the strong image of their sport in iconic places along the route,” explains We are in Paris 2024. Among the torchbearers, we are famous or anonymous athletes, as well as coaches, managers or association volunteers.

Individual carriers will be announced next Monday

Collective relay races will be organized throughout France. Thus, 24 skaters will walk along the streets of Bordeaux (Gironde) and Blois (Loir and Cher), the Sisteron rock (Alpes of Haute-Provence) will be taken over by the Climbing Federation, the castle park of Compiègne (Oise) by archers of the Archery Federation, and b-boys and bi -girl breaking, a new Olympic discipline, will take place in Troyes (Aube) and Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis).

Some images will be completely crazy. The fencers will take part in Lascaux (Dordogne) and Guadeloupe, Laura Flessel’s home island; cyclists will ride along Mont Saint-Michel (Manche) and Mont Ventoux (Vaucluse); Racers will compete on Omaha Beach (Calvados), sailing specialists will compete in Sables d’Olonne (Vendee) and Gruissant (Aude), and surfers will compete in La Torche (Finistère), Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and on Teahupoo beach (Tahiti).

Collective relay races will take place at almost every stage of the torch relay: from May 10 in Vars (with the team of the French Federation of Disabled Sports) to July 25 in Seine-Saint-Denis. Next Monday, Paris 2024 will reveal the identities of individual carriers, including many anonymous ones.