the essential
On May 17, Céline Benayoun will carry the Olympic flame during her visit to Toulouse, in Haute-Garonne, during a solidarity relay. With 23 other people, she will accompany a joëlette. A unique experience to live.
On May 17, you will carry the Olympic flame as it passes through Toulouse, in Haute-Garonne, during a solidarity relay. How did this adventure start?
I am a collaborator of the Banque Populaire, and very involved in the Hôpital Sourire association, founded by the Purpan University Hospital and the banking establishment, and which is also a major patron of the bank. The association, which I joined ten years ago as soon as it was created in Cahors, helps finance equipment for hospitalized children or the elderly. For example, virtual reality headsets could be purchased for the Cahors hospital. And at the same time, I started running. A friend had just run the Paris marathon for Hôpital Sourire, so I followed in her footsteps. With my friends, we discovered joëlette racing, and that’s mainly what I do. This is how I was selected to be a torchbearer. Banque Populaire wanted to highlight people who work for the local associative fabric in this relay of solidarity.
You’ve known this for a long time. How are you feeling a few days before departure?
I was proposed to several months ago. At first, I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. Then, it was possible but under certain conditions. For example, on the networks, we could only post an official photo. The Olympics are very structured. We had a 45-minute webinar on what it means to be a torchbearer, on the torch kiss… But then, that’s it, I understood that I was entering the great Olympic machine at my level. What I do, I do on a very small scale. We are not just runners who put on our sneakers, we are representatives of local solidarity initiatives.
“La joëlette we can start a race without knowing each other, in the end, we all end up friends”
How will your adventure unfold?
We will carry the flame for a very short time in Toulouse. We’re going to run behind a truck that will film us throughout the race, you’ll have to smile and look your best! The torch bearer, Nora, a young disabled woman, will be transported by joëlette by four members of ASEI 31, these are her educators. She’s the one who’s going to do the torch kiss. We are going to run alongside. We are 24 torchbearers. I would be accompanied by other people involved in charitable associations. There will be, in particular, Professor Emmanuel Mas, who volunteers at Hôpital Sourire. But also members of the League Against Cancer… It’s an opportunity to meet, to get to know people with whom we are in tune and share the same values. Anyway, the joëlette we can start a race without knowing each other, in the end, we all end up friends.
Is it a Source of pride to carry the Olympic flame?
I am very moved, very enthusiastic. At first, I didn’t believe it and there it was. It’s starting to become real. It’s once in a lifetime, I feel privileged. I will live this adventure 100%. The Olympics are a bit of an impersonal event and there, all of a sudden, we take part in this incredible adventure.
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Are you going to attend an Olympic competition this summer?
No, but this relay is my way of participating in the Olympics.
Two days after your relay, you have an event in the Lot.
On May 19, there is the vineyard marathon and half-marathon. We are going to carry Jessica in a joëlette. And we will be two torchbearers on the team! My colleague, Benjamin Per, will carry the flame during his visit to Gers. We hope to be able to wear our official t-shirt during this event, just to mark the occasion. This will really be an extension of this human and united adventure.
