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New York Post
2024 Olympics opening ceremony ends in star-studded torch relay with Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal
By Sean Savage,
2024-07-27
One boat, four GOATs: Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci comprised a star-studded squad that helped close out the torch relay for the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Friday.
Over the course of three months, the torch seared its flames across 450 towns and cities — spanning 65 regions, including five overseas territories.
Once it reached the Eiffel Tower — after starting in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics — Nadal was in charge of carrying the flame as part of an epic boat ride down the Seine River.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2024 Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Carl Lewis and Nadia deliver the Olympic torch in a boat Getty Images
Nadal was the one who rallied it over to the hands of Amelie Mauresmo, departing from the boat.
Mauresmo dished it to Tony Parker, the San Antonio Spurs superstar.
US tennis player Serena Williams reacts prior to hand over the Olympics torch during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. AFP via Getty Images Tony Parker – San Antonio Spurs superstar – runs with the flame AFP via Getty Images
The floor general was one of the pioneers for four of the Spurs’ NBA titles, and he would continue to run with the torch after handing it over to three other French athletes.
The legendary night continued when two three-time Olympic champions — Teddy Riner in judo and track and field’s Marie-José Pérec — lit the cauldron.
Charles Coste — who at 100 years old is the oldest French Olympic champion — lit their torches for the 23-foot-wide ring of flames alongside a 100-foot-tall hot-air balloon that soared through the night’s sky.
A general view of a balloon carrying the Olympic Cauldron rises to conclude the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. Getty Images
The Olympic Flame is set to shine without fuel for the first time ever at the Olympic Games.
Not to mention, Celine Dion – the iconic singer who also sang at the 1996 opening ceremony in Atlanta – stepped into the spotlight with a surreal performance that followed the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron.
For the latest in sports, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/sports/
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