Current:Home > InvestRafael Nadal, Serena Williams part of Olympic torch lighting in epic athlete Paris handoff-InfoLens
Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams part of Olympic torch lighting in epic athlete Paris handoff
View Date:2024-12-23 16:56:31
PARIS — The lighting of the Olympic torch was a celebration of some of the biggest stars of French sports, both known to the world and not: Zinedine Zidane, the talisman of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup. Rafael Nadal, whose career is defined by his 14 French Open titles. Tony Parker, whose success with the San Antonio Spurs opened the NBA to French players, including current French sensation Victor Wembanyama.
But it was some of the lesser-known athletes who made it truly memorable. Charles Coste, who turned 100 earlier this year and is France’s oldest living Olympian, took the torch while seated in his wheelchair.
A pair of three-time Olympic champions, judoka Teddy Riner and track and field’s Marie-José Pérec, then came to meet Coste. The two touched their torches to his and then slowly walked up a ramp to what looked like a large sphere suspended in the air.
Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
MORE:Meet every member of Team USA competing in 2024 Paris Olympics
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
MORE:Five American candidates who could light cauldron at 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
When Riner and Pérec lit the base, however, the cauldron was revealed to be a hot air balloon that lifted high into Paris’ night sky.
On his leg of the relay, which included a boat ride, Nadal was joined by Serena Williams, who won three of her 23 Grand Slam titles at the French Open; Carl Lewis, a four-time Olympic champion at the 1984 Games; and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic history at the 1976 Games.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Follow Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour
veryGood! (8215)
Related
- Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
- Apple Music Classical aims to reach music lovers the streaming revolution left behind
- Marvel Actress Karen Gillan Reveals She's Been Secretly Married for Nearly a Year
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $280 Crossbody Bag for Just $59
- Get well, Pop. The Spurs are in great hands until your return
- This duo rehearsed between air raid alarms. Now they're repping Ukraine at Eurovision
- Greta Thunberg joins activists' protest against a wind farm in Norway
- Martha Stewart is the oldest cover model ever for a 'Sports Illustrated' swim issue
- Powerball winning numbers for November 11 drawing: Jackpot hits $103 million
- House of the Dragon: Here's When the Hit Series Could Return for Season 2
Ranking
- Amazon Black Friday 2024 sales event will start Nov. 21: See some of the deals
- An upscale inn rarely changed the communal bathwater. A probe found 3,700 times the standard limit of legionella bacteria.
- Transcript: CIA director William Burns on Face the Nation, Feb. 26, 2023
- Greta Thunberg joins activists' protest against a wind farm in Norway
- Demure? Brain rot? Oxford announces shortlist for 2024 Word of the Year: Cast your vote
- The 'More Perfect' podcast examines the Supreme Court
- Wizards of Waverly Place's Jennifer Stone Recalls Date With Co-Star Austin Butler
- It Cosmetics Flash Deal: Get $123 Worth of Products for Just $77
Recommendation
-
Shel Talmy, produced hits by The Who, The Kinks and other 1960s British bands, dead at 87
-
Transcript: CIA director William Burns on Face the Nation, Feb. 26, 2023
-
Iran schoolgirls poisoned as some people seek to stop education for girls, Iranian official says
-
'Succession,' Season 4, Episode 5, 'Kill List'
-
Everard Burke Introduce
-
VanVan, 4, raps about her ABCs and 123s
-
Paris Hilton Reflects on Decision to Have an Abortion in Her 20s
-
You're overthinking it — how speculating can spoil a TV show