Olympic flame in Montpellier: the magic happened in front of a thousand schoolchildren at the Phillipidès stadium

La flamme olympique au stade Philippidès Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

La flamme olympique au stade Philippidès Midi Libre – GIACOMO ITALIANO

The Olympic flame at the Philippides stadium Free Midi – GIACOMO ITALIANO

Carried by its captain Jeanne Rossarie, the collective relay of the Olympic flame vibrated the Montpellier enclosure filled with children.

Suddenly, after long minutes of waiting, the flame appeared. The stand of the Philippidès stadium capsized, the magic happened.

The previous torchbearer in his white flocked Paris 2024 outfit finally entered the enclosure and passed the flame to Jeanne Rossarie. The 33-year-old teacher at UFR-Staps then passed it from hand to hand to the 24 members of the collective relay made up of athletes specializing in weightlifting, one of the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.

"Every torchbearer is part of the story"

The delegation then started running on the blue track of the Montpellier stadium behind its captain under the eyes of Michaël Delafosse, the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and local elected officials: " It was intense and short, I had the impression of reliving the emotions of sport, explained Jeanne Rossarie once it was all over. It’s quite a symbol to have experienced this with my students at UFR-Staps. As a teacher, it was doubly beautiful. They will remember this moment for the rest of their lives, like me."

Behind the handrail, Jeanne Rossarie's loved ones shared the moment with pride: "My father, I think he cried, me too a little. I have already been able to explain to my two daughters what the Games represented, the values ​​of sport. The Olympics are THE event, so each torchbearer is a little part of history."

"A great honor to have participated"

Third of the four torchbearers planned on Kévin Mayer's usual training track, David Bossian, president of the Occitanie League and general secretary of the weightlifting federation, savored these moments: & quot;It's magical, it only happens once in a lifetime, it's a great honor to have been able to participate in this relay. We dream of it, being there is wonderful."

The manager was delighted at the spotlight on his discipline: "Once every four years, we talk about weightlifting, the rest of the time, it&rsquo ;is a minor sport. We are lucky to have a big university club in Montpellier and the biggest French club in Clermont l’Hérault."

Before these few fleeting minutes, around 1,200 schoolchildren from Montpellier, Mende and even Tahiti enjoyed sporting activities, all hosted by a speaker who added atmosphere to the stadium. For these young people as for Jeanne Rossarie and the members of the collective relay, this Monday, May 13 will be remembered.

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