How the Olympic torch relay will end is one of the intrigues of any opening ceremony of the Games. The name of the person who would light the special cup in the Tuileries Garden was not revealed until the last moment. As the Olympic organizing committee reported, the torchbearer himself learned about his honorable mission only today, on the day of the opening. His identity was known to a dozen other people. And in order not to declassify the name of the hero ahead of time, they came up with the pseudonym “Fox.”
Of course, in France they immediately began to select suitable candidates for the role of the main torchbearer. Both world football champion Zinedine Zidane and three-time Olympic champion in athletics Marie-Josée Perec were named. Zidane had already appeared in the programme in a different role. Before the start of the ceremony, a video was shown in which Zizou, who is often recognised as the best footballer in the world according to different accounts, was walking through the city with the Olympic torch, which he then handed over to children. But Perek hit the nail on the head.
Well, the “Fox” – of course wearing a mask – constantly reminded us of himself during the opening ceremony. The mysterious torchbearer ran with the Olympic torch across the rooftops of Paris, visited the workshops where the equipment for the Olympic Games was made, as well as the Olympic medals, travelled by boat on the Seine and went to the Orsay Museum.
After the Games were declared open, the “Zorro” passed the torch to Zidane, who passed it to the Spanish tennis player and 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal. Rafa holds the record for the most victories at the Parisian major Roland Garros (14 titles), on whose courts the Olympic tennis tournament will be played. The torch was then passed to another former world number one: the American Serena Williams. The torch was also caught by the Romanian five-time Olympic gymnast Nadia Comenech and the American nine-time Olympic champion in sprint and long jump Carl Lewis. The final stage of the relay was also attended by the winner of two Grand Slams, the silver medallist of the 2004 Olympic Games in singles Amelie Mauresmo, the basketball player, the multiple NBA champion Tony Parker, the Paralympic athletes and the oldest Olympic cycling champion from 1948, Charles Costes. It was he who passed the baton to Teddy Riner and Marie-Josée Perec.
It should be noted that the Olympic oath of the athletes was pronounced by Olympic swimming champion Florent Manaudou and Olympic silver medalist in discus throw Melina Robert-Michon.
