A total of twenty-four athletes from France participated as Olympic torchbearers, but a distinguished pair were chosen to ignite the cauldron.
The concluding journey of the torch commenced with soccer icon Zinedine Zidane, ultimately being passed to two French Olympic legends, each acclaimed for their three Olympic gold medals.
Track star Marie-José Pérec and judoka Teddy Riner were the ones to light the cauldron, which featured a French flair, mirroring the theme of the opening ceremony.
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Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner ignite the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. (Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The duo then ignited their torches using a 100-foot hot-air balloon, symbolizing the inaugural flight in a hydrogen balloon from 1783.
Pérec, aged 56, claimed gold in the 400 meters during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and again in Atlanta four years later, also winning the 200 meters gold in 1996. At that time, her 48.25 second run in the 400 meters set an Olympic record.
Torchbearers Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner ignite the Olympic cauldron at the Gardens of the Tuileries during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024, in Paris. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
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Riner captured gold medals in 2012 in London and 2016 in Rio in the men’s plus-100 kg category, and again at Tokyo in the mixed team event. At 35, he boasts 12 gold medals at world championships, including one from last year. He aims for his fourth Olympic gold this year, beginning his competition on August 2.
This marks the second consecutive Summer Games where an athlete competing in the Olympics has lit the cauldron; Naomi Osaka performed this honor in Tokyo 2021 before her events.
Among the torchbearers leading up to the official lighting were Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Nadia Comaneci, and Tony Parker.
The Paris skyline after the Olympic cauldron is ignited by torchbearers Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024, in Paris. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
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Despite the ceremony occurring on Friday, events commenced as early as Wednesday, highlighted by the United States women’s soccer team’s triumph over Zambia.
The first medal events will take place on Saturday.
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