The Dragon Ladies declare their flame
This Olympic year will be a busy one for the Dragon Ladies. No medal in sight, of course, but an extraordinary showcase. Three French crews will be represented among the torchbearers.
The Olympic flame arrived on French soil on 8 May, in Marseille (Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur region). It has to travel 12,000 kilometres before arriving in Paris on 26 July.
During this voyage, which will shed light on the history of France and those who wrote it, on our natural heritage, on French creativity and know-how, and finally on the emotions and collective energy of sport, the flame will travel aboard three boats manned by Dragon Ladies.
The first will be Nicole, the emblematic and committed President of Elles du Bassin in Andernos-les-Bains (Nouvelle Aquitaine region) on 20 May. For her, it all started with an exchange with Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, during a radio interview. A few weeks later, the French Canoe Kayak Federation announced that she would be taking part in a team relay at the whitewater stadium in Pau. She will be accompanied by two Dragon Ladies from her club.
The second will be Emilie, in charge of the very young Champ' Dragon Ladies crew from Chalons en Champagne (Grand Est region) on 30 June. This poly pathologies crew was chosen on the recommendation of local politicians. This will be the first official outing for Sisu, their brand-new DB20, which arrived from Germany less than a month ago. This relay will carry the flame between 2 French departments on Lac du Der, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
The third, Pascale, President of the Diamant Rose association in Saint-Quentin (Hauts-de-France region), which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary, will be on 15 July on the Lac de Monampteuil. It was at the suggestion of the director of this nautical base and the president of the club that hosts them, that our friends found themselves in the limelight.
They have already had the opportunity to train for this event, during which they will have to reconcile the transport of the torchbearer and his bodyguard with the lighting of the flame, which is limited to 8/10 minutes.
They are all proud to represent our family and to add our values to those of the Olympics.
Well done and thank you.
Les Elles du bassin https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064497051021 ou lesellesdubassin.fr
Champ’ Dragon Ladies https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088172813749
Association Diamant Rose https://www.facebook.com/groups/virginie.duflot et https://www.asso-diamantrose.fr/
