Two representatives of French archery carry the Paralympic torch
Dominique Ohlmann, World Archery para committee chair and French archery federation secretary general, and Jean-Jacques Jaugin, a French archer and volunteer, carried the Paralympic flame for Paris 2024 on 26 August as it passed through Chambly in the department of Oise and Chartres in Eure-et-Loir.
They are among only a thousand forerunners chosen to make up the Paralympic torch relay – also called ‘forerunners relay’ – that marks the start of the first Summer Paralympic Games to be held in France and runs through 50 cities in France over four days.
“The moment is unique and the emotions quite indescribable,” said Ohlmann. “It’s a great honour; so many people are invested in bringing para sports to life in clubs, I realise how lucky I was to have been chosen.”
“In my mind, I had all the people who trusted me throughout my journey, and all the para archers from all over the world that I’ve met for over 10 years in international events, they’re my family.”
The flame was lit on 25 August in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom – the historic birthplace of Paralympic sport – and travelled through the Channel Tunnel to Calais in France, where it was divided into 12 separate flames symbolising the 12 days of the event, with the lighting of the cauldron on 28 August, followed by 11 days of competition.
“It was a great surprise to be chosen by the city [of Chartres],” Jaugin said. “I was very moved and very proud to represent our discipline.”
The para archery competition at Paris 2024 runs from 29 August to 5 September on the Esplanade des Invalides with some 138 athletes from a record 47 countries competing for nine Paralympic Champion titles.
The sport is rooted in the history of the Paralympic movement, as it was used as a rehabilitation activity for injured veterans by German neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the 1940s.
On 29 July 1948 – the day of the opening ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games – Dr Guttmann organised the first archery tournament for 16 patients. The competition was run annually and called the Stoke Mandeville Games, setting the foundation for an international event for impaired athletes and acting as a precursor to the Paralympics.
Archery was included at the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960 and has remained on the programme ever since.
Archery at Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
- Thursday 29 August – qualifying
- Friday 30 August – compound eliminations
- Saturday 31 August – W1 women’s finals, compound women’s finals
- Sunday 1 September – W1 men’s finals, compound men’s finals
- Monday 2 September – W1 mixed team finals, compound mixed team finals
- Tuesday 3 September – recurve women’s finals
- Wednesday 4 September – recurve men’s finals
- Thursday 5 September – recurve mixed team finals
