After the historic alighting ceremony at the Channel Tunnel yesterday, the Olympic Torch Relay has headed inland. The 12 Paralympic torches illuminated Amiens, the administrative centre of the Somme department.
On Monday, 26 August, 400 relay runners took part in the torch relay. Two team relays showcasing para-sports were also organised by the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF). The first torch lit up Arras and its Grand Place in Pas-de-Calais, and went on to illuminate Amiens, the administrative centre of the Somme department, whose canals earned it the moniker “Little Venice of the North”. The stage came to a close in Chambly, Oise, which was crowned the sportiest town in Picardy! Downtown Laon, in the Aisne department, also basked in the glow of the torch as locals congregated in Place Herriot.
Venturing further east, the Paralympic torch danced through the Marne department, lighting up Châlsons-en-Champagne and its Parc du Jard. It then blazed a trail to the Henri Terré sports complex in Troyes, Aube, before shining a light on thecours l’Abbé in Châtillon-sur-Seine, Côte-d’Or. Meanwhile, in the south-east, the torches roared to life in the famous Place Bellecour in Lyon.
The heart of France pulsed with Paralympic spirit as downtown Chartres glowed near its cathedral. Pierre-Emmanuel Baruch, the captain of this relay and director of DALHIR, a charity that works to improve social integration for vulnerable children and adults. Alongside him were Patrice Faucogney, the mastermind behind all-terrain wheelchairs that boost mobility and independence; Hicham Ousseni, the creator of an inclusive sports and nutrition app tailoring personalised programs to specific conditions; and Laure Gabin, the designer of adaptive skis that open up the world of snow sports to people with reduced mobility. The proceedings of the day concluded with Vincent Mignon, a two-time Paralympic cycling medallist in Atlanta 1996, in Troyes, while the 2023 Normandy heptathlon champion Charlène Sauval had the honour of lighting the cauldron in Louvier.