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Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet insisted he has “no regrets at all” about how the Olympics have unfolded despite some controversies at the Games.
As the Games concludes with the closing ceremony at the Stade de France, with the USA coming out on top in the final medal table, Estanguet has had time to reflect on the past fortnight. The rain-disrupted opening ceremony proved especially divisive, with Paris organisers apologising to religious groups over a scene which they felt mocked Leonardo da Vinci’s painting ‘The Last Supper’.
The early days of the Games were blighted by bad weather while several training sessions in the River Seine for the triathlon and marathon swim events were cancelled after failing water quality tests.
The men’s triathlon was pushed back 24 hours but all events got the green light, ultimately vindicating the decision of authorities to spend 1.4 billion euros (£1.2 billion) to try to clean up the river.
Estanguet admitted there have been some imperfections but he pointed to an Olympic record 9.5 million tickets being sold as one of the reasons these Games can be regarded as an overwhelming success.
Estanguet said in his closing speech: “The evening of the opening ceremony, when the athletes paraded on the Seine, when Céline Dion sang The Hymn to Love from the balcony of the Eiffel Tower, when the Olympic Cauldron rose up into the Parisian skies, a momentum began.
“And from the next morning, with the first medals, a wave started building. This wave took over the country, carried the whole world in its wake and went beyond anything we could imagine. We wanted strong images, our competition venues will go down in the history of the Games. We wanted excitement, we got passion.
“We wanted to be inspired, we got Léon Marchand. Together, we have experienced Games like nothing the world has seen before.”
Estanguet, who won three Olympic golds in the canoe slalom between 2000 and 2012, said: “It would be a little bit like a spoiled brat saying ‘I’ve got regrets about the Olympic Games’, it’s not the case.
“Yes, I was an athlete and I am a perfectionist, I can be a little bit of a nitpicker. I know things weren’t perfect. We had issues, things that needed to be fine-tuned.
“There are always things that could be improved and we’ve had issues day-in day-out to resolve.
“But if someone told me on the eve of the opening ceremony of how things would go, I would have said ‘sign me up’. It’s wonderful, it’s a huge success, a collective success, incredibly so.
“France has rallied together to pull off this edition of the Olympic Games. I’m so proud of the success story. I have no regrets at all.”
Paris is preparing to pass the Olympic torch this weekend to 2028 hosts Los Angeles and the French capital will now turn its focus to the Paralympics, starting later this month.
“We’ve got the same level of ambition for the Paralympic Games,” Estanguet added. “The Paralympic Games will extend this celebration.
“There is a very big ambition from the Paris 2024 teams to succeed in these first Paralympic Games organised in France.”
