MARIE-JOSE PEREC AND TEDDY RINER LIGHT OLYMPIC CAULDRON

Paris — France's most-decorated track athlete Marie-Jose Perec and three-time Olympic gold medal-winning judoka Teddy Riner jointly lit the Paris Olympics cauldron on Friday (early Saturday in Manila).

France's torchbearers Judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jo Perec light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. AFP PHOTO

Torchbearer former French cyclist Charles Coste (3L) gives the Olympic flame to French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec (L) and French judoka Teddy Riner (2L) during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024, at the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries garden). AFP PHOTO

The torchbearers French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner stand next to a lit Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. AFP PHOTO

The cauldron, with the Olympic flame lit, lifts off while attached to a balloon as the torchbearers French former sprinter Marie-Jose Perec and French judoka Teddy Riner stand in front during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden) in Paris on July 26, 2024. AFP PHOTO

France's torchbearers judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jo Perec carry the Olympic flame as they prepare to light the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. AFP PHOTO

Perec and Riner strode up to the cauldron which formed the base of a hot air balloon in the Tuileries Gardens after it had been transported from the ceremony at the Eiffel Tower by boat and by a succession of French sports figures.