Friday May 10, Var will be the first department after Bouches-du-Rhône to be crossed by the torch relay. 102 porters were selected, including Florent Danays. This young para-adapted swimming champion takes great pride in it. Here is his story.
We met him by the pool where he trains five days a week like the champion he is.
At 27, Florent Danays has already been five times French para-adapted swimming champion. He suffers from a rare genetic anomaly, which has never prevented him from taking the plunge. He announced it straight away on his Facebook page, “difference is my challenge”.
Some competitions, like the French championships, are intense. This is how we evolve. It’s not because I have a disability that I can’t do sports.
Florent Danays, bearer of the flame
Violaine Ostermann, his trainer, is full of admiration for the young champion: “He is a very resilient swimmer, very courageous, and who knows how to adapt. The whole club is very happy that he can carry the flame”.
This young boy divides his time between his swimming training and his job in a specialized establishment, ESAT Catvert, thanks to the Avens 83 association. Florent Danays works in the maintenance of green spaces, a physical job.
At the start, he didn’t necessarily have too many facilities. I think sport helped him a lot to surpass himself. Sport is the school of life!
Abdel Guenifi, workshop instructor, Avens 83 association
His colleagues, like his fellow swimmers, will be numerous on Friday May 10 to come and share Florent’s emotion when he carries the flame. It will be around 6:50 p.m. 200 meters to go, in a straight line, between the port of Toulon and the Place de la Liberté where the cauldron will then be lit. As a good sportsman, he has already carried out a reconnaissance of the course. And calls on all those who wish to come and encourage him!
His mission, of which he is very proud, has a very special meaning for him. The meaning of his life.
This flame is the values of sport for everyone!
Florent Danays, bearer of the Olympic flame
Like Florent, there will be a total of 102 torchbearers during its passage through the Var on Friday. Not all of them are athletes, not all of them are famous, but all of them are personalities whose journey and values embody the Olympic spirit.
The flame will leave Saint-Raphaël on Friday May 10 at 8:10 a.m. to finish in Toulon, Place de la Liberté at 7:30 p.m. after a journey to the Verdon:
To follow the torch relay until its arrival in Paris on July 26, go to the france.tv channel every day.
