Photos : Paris 2024 / Guillaume Ruchaud / SIPA PRESS
For the first time in the history of the Games, each day of the Olympic Torch Relay, team relays of 24 people are organized to spread the energy of sport and teamwork in all territories.
Like Valence Triathlon, Besançon Triathlon was one of the lucky ones. President of the Doubist club, Loïc Geschwine tells us all about this unforgettable experience in the following interview.
How did the operation go? Did everything go smoothly? Do you have one or two anecdotes to tell us?
After 2 rehearsals on sites shorter than the official D-Day route, we had to get our bearings on the precise location at 2 a.m. after having installed the mini-transition parks and the location markings.
After a final rehearsal, the athletes received their uniforms. The excitement of getting into the real thing galvanizes everyone. We are lucky to have a torch in hand to take pictures with our families and the other non-selection athletes.
The scenario foresees a hand-to-hand passing of the flame by the 24 torchbearers of the team before the final passing. In our relay, there was a passing between father and daughter and one between father and son, it was a very emotional moment and above all a very beautiful symbolism of transmission.
Personally, as president, I wanted to stay out of the relay to leave as much space as possible for the athletes, but I experienced a great deal of emotion by proxy by following my son throughout the course.
It was a great universal moment with all the athletes at the same level, whether they were young, adults, men, women, able-bodied or disabled.
They experienced such an event that they all had difficulty leaving each other after the passage, wanting to remain on their “little cloud”.
Did the torchbearers feel any pressure before the start of the operation? Who passed the flame to you?
Yes, fully, a great responsibility to perfectly execute the choreography representing our three sports.
Our transition torchbearers, Véro and Sosoye, had their cardio levels at their highest when taking charge of the flame, while our best young athlete of the moment approached the first passage of the flame with a huge smile representing all the joy of present time.
Who did you pass the torch to?
Alexandre Pasteur, a journalist from France Télévision, passed the torch to us and we passed it to Joey Cachat (after-school activity leader)
What gifts did you receive?
Apart from the uniform and experiencing a unique moment, each torchbearer received a golden torch ring in a superb white case.
What did you do after the ceremony? Did you attend the lighting of the cauldron at the end of the day? Which personality lit the cauldron?
Unfortunately, the time to put away the equipment and the density of the population at the end of the route made access to the cauldron difficult, the time was too short to reach the lighting site. The last relay of the Olympic flame was between Michel Chapuis, Olympic vice-champion of canoeing at the 1964 Olympic Games and Anaïs Bescond, the biathlete from Haut-Jura. It was she who lit the cauldron at the Gare d’eau.
How was the evening?
True to the values of the club, we continued the evening collectively, sharing an aperitif dinner on a hill in Besançon, with simplicity and conviviality.
You will find a video that immortalizes this moment by clicking on this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kd0UELz0_pXwMOjGOc6cWtX5muADPvA-/view?usp=sharing
