A star-studded team featuring four GOATs in one boat — Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci — completed the torch relay for the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.
Over the course of three months, the torch burned in 450 towns and cities across 65 territories, including five overseas territories.
After leaving Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the flame arrived at the Eiffel Tower and Nadal was tasked with carrying it as part of an epic boat journey down the River Seine.
Nadal is no stranger to France, where he has won the French Open a record 14 times, highlighted by five consecutive titles from 2010 to 2014.
2024 Paris Olympics
Additionally, following his 112-4 record at Roland Garros, a statue of the star was erected outside the stadium in 2021.
It was Nadal who stole the ball back from Amelie Mauresmo, who had just launched from the boat.
Mauresmo made a pass to San Antonio Spurs superstar Tony Parker.
The floor general was one of the pioneers behind the Spurs’ four NBA titles and will continue on that path after passing the baton to three other French athletes.
The legendary evening continued when two three-time Olympic gold medallists, judoka Teddy Riner and track and field athlete Marie-Josée Pérec, lit the Olympic cauldron.
Charles Coste, who at 100 years old is France’s oldest Olympic champion, lit a torch in a 23-foot-wide ring of flame next to a 100-foot-tall hot air balloon that soared into the night sky.
The Olympic flame will burn without fuel for the first time in Olympic history.
Not to mention, iconic singer Celine Dion, who also sang at the 1996 Atlanta opening ceremony. In the spotlight Following the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, a surreal performance was presented.
