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France 24
France 24
Sport
NEWS WIRES

Paris Paralympics flame is lit before journey from English village, under sea and over land

Britain's Helene Raynsford and Gregor Ewan light torches from the cauldron during the Paralympic torch-lighting ceremony at Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury, England on August 24, 2024. © Justin Tallis, AFP

Four days before the start of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, the Paralympic flame was lit on Saturday near a hospital in the English village of Stoke Mandeville, where the idea for the competion was conceived. A group of  British athletes will embark on the underwater journey through the Channel Tunnel on Sunday, taking it halfway, before handing it over to 24 French torchbearers, who will carry it to the French coastal city of Calais.

Two weeks after French star swimmer Léon Marchand extinguished the Olympic flame to close the Paris Olympics, the spotlight is now on its Paralympic counterpart.

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