Quite a day for the Olympic flame. In Haute-Garonne, it began its route on Friday in the town of Revel before finishing at the Ernest-Wallon stadium where the captain of the Stade Toulouse Antoine Dupont lit the cauldron, as is now customary.
Before ending its day in the pink city, the flame left Revel this morning. Triple amputee, entrepreneur Jérôme Bernard got the ball rolling under the southwest sun. For years, he has been fighting to make racing more accessible to people with disabilities. Recently, he distinguished himself by doing the GR20 in Corsica.
Then head to Muret where the elders were in the spotlight when Anne-Marie, one of the oldest heart and lung transplant recipients in France, handed over to Yvonne, one of the oldest members of the torch relay, at 90 years.
The Olympic torch then headed towards Rieux-Volvestre, Colomiers and Bagnères-de-Luchon. In the latter town, she also took advantage of a trip in the Luchon-Superbagnères cable car.
Rugby in the spotlight in Toulouse
Then at the end of the afternoon, the relay finished its day in Toulouse, carried by many big names. Jonathan Hivernat, the captain of the French wheelchair rugby team, was the second torchbearer in the pink city.
Then, despite the rain, which was setting in, the torch continued its journey, carried among others by swimmer Assia Touati but also by local rappers Bigflo and Oli. “It was great! In truth, we’re not sporty so we tell ourselves that we don’t deserve it. But hey, we were invited so obviously we said yes,” reacted the first.
“I would have come to see her even if I hadn’t carried her. It’s an event and a source of pride to be there for the city,” says his brother. Bigflo continues: “In addition, we were lucky enough to be able to hold the torch together, and it was an important symbol for me and Oli to carry it between brothers. »
In the city of rugby, football was also in the spotlight when Guillaume Restes, the Toulouse FC goalkeeper, carried the flame into the crowded center of the city. Much applauded, the former coach of the French handball team, double Olympic medalist, Claude Onesta continued the relay before the rugby players entered the track.
🔥 #Paris2024 | 🥇 Iconic coach of the Blues of handball from 2001 to 2016 🤾, Claude Onesta, double gold medalist in Beijing then London, is also there.
▶️ Follow the Olympic torch relay live on our channel: pic.twitter.com/UQ2EkErMyP
— francetvsport (@francetvsport) May 17, 2024
After Stade Toulouse legends Maxime Médard and Vincent Clerc, another figure from the club carried the flame: Émile Ntamack. The former player has also passed the torch to his son Romain, who still plays in Toulouse. A transmission full of symbolism which took place in front of a packed Ernest-Wallon stadium for the occasion.
Romain Ntamack then passed the flame on to his friend in the Toulouse hinge, Antoine Dupont. Captain of the Stade Toulouse and the French team, he will participate in the Games with the French rugby sevens team and was the last torchbearer of the day.
In front of an overheated and very well-stocked Ernest-Wallon stadium, the scrum-half lit the cauldron to end a decidedly very lively day.
Tomorrow Saturday, the Olympic flame will travel through the Gers department and the lighting of the cauldron will take place in Auch at the end of the day. Once again, rugby risks being in the spotlight…
