Olympics in Paris 2024: "If I could, I would stay 10 more days!" : end of the journey for the young northerner aboard Belem

Belem arrives at the old port of Marseille on Wednesday 8 May. He places the Olympic flame on French soil. A new stage for the torch on its journey. But for the team of 16 young flame scouts who came from all over France to oversee the torch, the adventure ends. Among them, Clara Labruyère, resident of Carvin (Pas-de-Calais), will also return to dry land. And the 22-year-old young woman already admits that she fears getting earth sick.

“The descent is going to be complicated!”

“We all expect the approach of Marseille and we say that to ourselves that’s it, the adventure is coming to an end”, observes Clara Labruyère. “We still got a lot done in the last few days, but not with the same sense of excitement as the first days because we know now it’s over“. The young northerner accepts her “sadness”: “because we’re not going to see each other anymore, or we won’t see each other for a long time. And we’re very sad!“, she explains.

Clara Labruyère (right) went on board the Belem together with 15 other young people from all over France. –
Vincent Curutchet Savings Bank

Clara Labruyère assures us that she already thinks she will be earth sick when she returns. “Yeah, it’s going to be really weird. We talked about earthworms, I think that’s what’s going to happen to me. In fact, we all lived in a little bubble for 12 days where we put aside stress, anxiety and the small worries of everyday life. And there, the fact of returning… I think that the descent will still be complicated”, she regrets.

Clara Labruyère plans to complete civil service in an association, and then complete sailor training –
Vincent Curutchet Savings Bank

“One of the most beautiful experiences of my life”

“It is one of the most beautiful experiences my life. I am incredibly happy to have experienced all that, plus with great people! I think what struck me the most were the moments I shared with everyone and the good atmosphere”, recalls Clara Labruyère. The 22-year-old young woman tells about the storm, but also about the dolphins and the Olympic flame, which little by little becomes a member of the crew.

“I Loved It All, I Loved It All” , she sums up. Then she adds: “If I could, I would stay 10 more days!” Clara Labruyère plans to complete her civil service in the Unis-Cités association and then take the CMP, a three-month training course for sailors.