Swimmer Laure Manaudou will be the first French female reliever

The swimmer Laure Manaudou will be the first French bearer of the Olympic torch this Tuesday, after the lighting of the flame in the ancient site of Olympia (Greece), the Greek Olympic Committee announced this Monday.

The Olympic 400 freestyle champion in Athens 2004 will replace the Greek rower Stefanos Ntouskosgold medalist in Tokyo 2021, who will be the first torchbearer, the organization specified, almost 100 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11).

The torch of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was lit up on Monday with the sun’s rays at a dress rehearsal in ancient Olympia ahead of Tuesday’s official ceremony that will mark the final stage towards the Games in Paris.

A Greek actress playing a high priestess used a parabolic mirror and sunlight to light the torch during the final rehearsal before the traditional ceremony at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece.

The ceremony marks the start of a torch relay in Greece and France that will end in Paris for the start of the Games on July 26.

This Tuesday the flame will be lit in front of the President of the Greek Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the leadership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In the event that clouds do not permit the use of glass to light the torch, the lighted flame will be used as a reserve during the general rehearsal.

After lighting the torch on Tuesday, actress Mary Mina will pass the flame to Olympic rowing champion Stefanos Ntouskos, on the edge of the old Olympic stadium for the start of the 11-day Greek relay.