Which Irish athlete has been selected to feature in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games torch relay?
Yesterday it was announced that Irish sailor Eve McMahon is to take part in the Olympic torch relay, as the flame travels from its start point in Marseille to the final destination of the opening ceremony in Paris on the 26th of July 2024.
McMahon, who will herself compete in the Olympic sailing regatta based in Marseille, was selected for the task by the French Embassy in Ireland.
In her maiden Olympic voyage, McMahon, who hails from Sutton in Dublin, will be one of Team Ireland’s youngest competitors at this year’s Games, and is taking both the occasion of the event and this special honour in her stride.
🔥 Olympic Torch Relay
Today representatives from all 27 EU countries take part in the Olympic Torch Relay, along with Ukraine, to celebrate #EuropeDay
Irish sailor Eve McMahon takes this honour in being torch bearer in this special event 🇮🇪 #TeamIreland #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/glhczf3ylf— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) May 9, 2024
“I’m really excited and honoured to be invited to be the Irish representative in the Olympic torch relay as it arrives in France. The atmosphere in Marseille this week is incredible, and it really gives a taste of what to expect this summer,” she says.
“Being part of the Olympic torch relay is special, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and is even more significant as it is taking place where I have been based with training over the past number of years,” she adds.
Given the sailing event will unfold in the Mediterranean Sea, Team Ireland’s sailing squad took the initiative to have their athletes’ train out of the Marseille venue for the last number of years, in order to familiarise themselves with the surroundings.
The Olympic flame was originally lit in Olympia, Greece, on April 16th, but the torch started its journey in the host country when it arrived in Marseille on Wednesday, where the relay is scheduled to begin today.
From there it will venture across 66 celebration sites and more than 400 towns en route to Paris.
Which Irish athlete has been selected to feature in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games torch relay? And what have others said about it?
On the news that McMahon had been selected to participate in the relay, Ambassador of France in Ireland, Vincent Guérend, mentioned how he was “delighted to see Ireland represented by Eve McMahon in this wonderful event.”
“The Olympic torch is arriving in Marseille, the French gate to the Mediterranean. Excitement is truly building for Paris 2024 and it promises to be an iconic edition of the Olympic and Paralympic games; 100 years after the previous edition held in Paris and 100 years after the first participation of Ireland in the games,” he says.
“The Franco-Irish friendship is no better symbolised than on the sports field and I am sure both counties will do our nations proud this summer. Vive le sport! Vive l’amitié franco-irlandaise!” he added.
Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Paris 2024, Gavin Noble also put forward a few words, touching on how the “ Olympic torch relay is an important element of the Games.”
“Most people are familiar with the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, and the torch relay as it leads to that moment. We are delighted for Eve to be included in the relay as it makes its way around France and signifies the beginning of the Olympic celebrations in France.”
As the Olympic flame reaches Marseille, sailor Eve McMahon speaks after being selected to be the Irish torch-bearer in the relay to carry the flame to the opening ceremony. #RTESport pic.twitter.com/kiOfk5qGXs
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 8, 2024
