The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday evening was (almost) unanimously acclaimed in France and abroad. Present on their delegation's boat, the players of the French Team validate. The Blues thus made the round trip by bus from Lille to reach the capital, the center of the world for an extraordinary evening.
” There were all the volunteers who made a guard of honor for us, it was crazy, incredible. Then, we took the bus with the whole French delegation, it was really crazy. The wait is always a bit long, but it was really worth it. “, says Sarah Michel, the captain of the Blues, on the Federation websitethe day after this first Olympic meeting.
” The first words that come to my mind are: incredible and unique. “, qualifies Marième Badiane, who is making her first trip to the Games and who recently won the Euroleague with Fenerbahçe.
The Blues' interior says she experienced ” a magnificent moment that opens an event that will be great and incredible. It was a magical moment, with a lot of emotions, it is not nothing to parade in front of France, the whole Earth. It was a very strong moment, and I hope that the rest of our adventure will be just as strong. »
The Blues stayed in Lille
Iliana Rupert was already in Tokyo three years ago. But this Parisian opening left its mark on her.
” The world stopped for a few hours for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, to watch the athletes parade. It gave us chills to see all this, to see that we are finally there. For all these years, we have been told about these Games, and it begins ” she explains.
Their counterparts, however, did not have the chance to experience this moment on site: they remained in Lille, in front of their television, in view of the start of their competition, today at 5:15 p.m. against Brazil.
” Now we can't wait to start the tournament and to give it our all on the pitch after experiencing this. “, says Jean-Aimé Toupane, whose team will begin its Olympic tournament on Monday against Canada (5:15 p.m.).
Photo FFBB.com
