TOWN HALL VILLEFRANCHE SUR MER
The Olympic flame was recovered 40 meters underwater by freediver Alice Modolo.
OLYMPIC GAMES – A little dive to recover the coveted object. The Olympic flame returned to France this Tuesday, June 18, carried by freediver Alice Modolo, who went to pick it up about forty meters underwater in Villefranche-sur-Mer, in the Alpes-Maritimes.
After passing through Tahiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique, the flame plunged into the harbor of Villefranche, a privileged site for freediving practice and competitions due to its depth sheltered from the currents.
This is not the first time the object has been submerged underwater. The flame had already spent nearly three minutes underwater during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and before the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, divers took turns 13 meters deep in Lake Baikal. But the technique used in the Alpes-Maritimes is different.
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While innovative chemical solutions were used at the time, they were not used this time for safety reasons for the freediver. The Alpes-Maritimes department, helped by the work of the Institute of Chemistry of the University of Côte d’Azur, pyrotechnicians, amusement parks and diving professionals, opted for a miniature military diving tank and a system of LEDs controlled by a microcontroller to give the appearance of a real flame.
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Charles Leclerc, Prince Albert and Stéphane Diagana
The Olympic flame appeared underwater at around 8 o’clock, carried by Alice Modolo, the first French woman to reach the 100 meter mark and currently vice-world champion. “I’m all trembling”she exclaimed while transmitting the flame.
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It must now travel through the Alpes-Maritimes department, then is expected at the start of the afternoon in Monaco, where it will be welcomed by Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc and carried by Prince Albert II and his wife Charlene.
At the end of the day, the flame must also go up the entire Promenade des Anglais in Nice, where it will be carried in particular by several representatives of the victims of the attack of July 14, 2016, which left 86 dead. Double world athletics champion Stéphane Diagana will light the cauldron around 7:20 p.m., in the presence of the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera.
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