The rugby player who won a gold medal in rugby 7s during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, as well as the Olympic mountain bike champion, will represent France on Sunday at the Stade de France during the closing ceremony.
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CORRECTION. In a previous version of this article, franceinfo announced the name of Léon Marchand as flag bearer alongside Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt. This information was denied by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee.
Rugby player Antoine Dupont and Olympic mountain bike champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt will finally be the flag bearers of the French delegation at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday, August 11, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee announced at a press conference. The rugby player and the cyclist both won gold medals at these Games, in rugby sevens and mountain biking respectively.
On Saturday, the name of Léon Marchand had been put forward by a source from the Sports Department of Radio France. Finally, it is indeed the rugby player Antoine Dupont who will accompany Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt. “We wanted to highlight team sports in light of the very good results in team sports for France”explains David Lappartient, president of the CNOSF.
With his four gold medals and his team bronze medal, Léon Marchand “achieved extraordinary Games”believes David Lappartient. “There are certainly several ways to highlight the athletes who have left their mark on the Games, like him, during the ceremony tonight.”he assures, inviting the spectators “to watch tonight”.
The ceremony will begin at 9pm at the Tuileries, near the Olympic cauldron. A flame will be taken to the Stade de France, where athletes from the 205 delegations will parade, before the start of the show staged by Thomas Jolly, who was already at the helm during the opening ceremony.
This artistic part will begin at nightfall, at 10:10 p.m., and will last 40 minutes. The French music groups Air and Phoenix, and the dancer and contortionist Arthur Cadre will be present. The American actor Tom Cruise is also scheduled to pass the baton between Paris and Los Angeles, the next host city of the Summer Olympics in 2028.
At around 11:15 p.m., the 8,200 athletes will greet the 71,000 spectators at the Stade de France, before the Olympic flame is extinguished.