07/26/24 05:25:00
Printable Page
07/26 17:23 CDT Olympic cauldron is lit by French gold medalists Teddy Riner
and Marie-Jos Prec
Olympic cauldron is lit by French gold medalists Teddy Riner and Marie-Jos
Prec
By JENNA FRYER
AP National Writer
PARIS (AP) --- French Olympic gold medalists Teddy Riner and Marie-Jos Prec
teamed to light the cauldron for the Paris Olympics to end an elaborate but
rain-soaked opening ceremony Friday night.
The duo both tilted their own torch toward the cauldron, which quickly became
alit in flames. Celine Dion followed with a rendition of Edith Piaf's "Hymne
l'amour" ("Hymn to Love").
Riner won three golds in judo and Prec won three in athletics, becoming the
first sprinter to win consecutive golds in the 400-meter dash.
The lighting of the cauldron capped an extravagant four-hour ceremony that
concluded with a relay of the flame that included many Olympic greats --- from
France, of course, but also other countries. Rafael Nadal of Spain and
Americans Serena Williams and Carl Lewis were among them.
The identity of who would light the cauldron was a closely kept secret until
Riner and Prec learned hours before the ceremony that they had been chosen.
Their identities were revealed to the rest of the world only when Charles
Coste, the oldest living French Olympic champion at 100 years old, lit both
their torches.
Tony Estanguet, the Paris Games chief organizer, said only he knew the identity
of "the personality or athlete" he had chosen and he deliberately withheld the
information so the secret would not be leaked.
"I really waited until today. I plan to tell the last carrier today, to try to
maintain this confidentiality," Estanguet said earlier Friday.
Recent cauldron lighters have ranged from current stars, retired greats and
even political figures, and some Games have featured groups of people sharing
the honor together. Notables from recent Olympics were tennis player Naomi
Osaka (Tokyo Games), figure skater Yuna Kim (Pyeongchang Games), marathon
runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (Rio de Janeiro Games), ice hockey player
Vladislav Tretiak (Sochi Games), a group of seven teenagers chosen by veteran
British Olympians (London Games) and ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky alongside
basketball player Steve Nash (Vancouver Games).
The cauldron was a ring of flames 7 meters (about 23 feet) in diameter, topped
by a 30-meter high (about 100 feet) and 22-meter wide (about 72 feet) hot-air
balloon. The design was a tribute to the first flight in a hydrogen-filled gas
balloon, made by two French inventors in 1783 from the Tuileries Garden. The
cauldron reflects France's spirit of daring, creativity and innovation and
French designer Mathieu Lehanneur created it as a symbol of liberty.
The cauldron is displayed in the heart of the city, in the Tuileries Garden and
aligned with the Louvre Museum, the La Concorde obelisk, the Champs-lyses and
the Arc de Triomphe.
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
|
