The Olympic flame has something mysterious, if only in the way it is born, by the rays of the sun, in Olympia. No less mysterious were the names of the torch bearers, sometimes discovered incidentally, sometimes officially delivered, but without ever the list of the complete 100 being revealed. It’s been done since Monday evening. We already knew sizes associated with sport in Moselle. Aurélie Muller, three-time world champion in open water swimming, Eva Bohnenstengel, French Paralympic champion, Jean-Marie Donatello, president of the Moselle handisport committee, Sylvain Kastendeuch, former captain of FC Metz, Sarah Bouktit, international handball player, pivot of Metz Handball or even Ludovic Rémy, the Sarrebourg coach of the French table tennis team.
More confidential names were also emerging little by little, such as Anthony Lenhard, from Woefling-les-Sarreguemines, who found a second life thanks to triathlon or even Fabrice Lefèvre, school teacher in Sainte-Barbe.
Now the complete list is known and reveals well-known names likeChristophe Porte, president of the Grand Est Table Tennis League, Metz Handball recruit Allison Pineau, former tenniswoman Constance Sibille, Michaël Jeremiasz, Olympic medalist in wheelchair tennis, Aurélien Fortier, president of Sluc Nancy and even the wrestler Sarregueminois Yannick Szczepaniak. Also entrepreneurs like André Heinz or Caroline Semin. However, we do not yet know who will light the cauldron, Place de la République.
Complicated selection
If those interested were generally to know fairly quickly that they would have the distinct honor of running (or walking) with the flame in their hand on one of the eight Moselle sites (Sarreguemines, Meisenthal, Forbach, Apach, Yutz, Thionville Scy-Chazelles then Metz) the vagueness on the details of their participation lasted until last week when everyone discovered their precise place and time of visit. With the surprise for some of them to discover that, if they have four minutes to go through their segment, they often have to stay five to six hours on site…
For observers, the selection of torchbearers sometimes remains obscure. Names without an obvious link to the sport sometimes appear but it is above all the selection system that few know. 30 % come from the general public campaign of major sponsors (Coca-Cola and Banque Populaire Caisse d’Épargne), 30 % of that carried out by secondary partners (Visa, Carrefour, Gilette, Française des Jeux, etc.), 30 % of that launched on social networks (and the essentials of the Olympic committee had their entry fee) and finally 10 % for local authorities. The president of the Department Patrick Weiten returned to the difficulty of making such a choice.
