{"id":33962,"date":"2025-03-18T03:15:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T03:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=33962"},"modified":"2025-03-18T03:15:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T03:15:54","slug":"nadal-adds-a-historic-piece-to-his-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=33962","title":{"rendered":"Nadal adds a historic piece to his museum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nadal<\/a>, forever linked to the French capital thanks to the 14 Roland Garros titles he won there, now preserves this piece of Olympic history in his academy’s showcase, serving as a permanent reminder of his emotional participation in the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

At the time, the Spaniard received the torch from Zinedine Zidane at the Trocadero Square, with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, just before boarding the barge in which he carried the flame along the River Seine to the Louvre, alongside stars like Serena Williams, Carl Lewis, and Nadia Comaneci. At the end of the journey, Rafael Nadal handed the torch to former French tennis player Am\u00e9lie Mauresmo, who continued accompanied by other athletes until reaching the Tuileries Garden. There, the relay was passed to judoka\u00a0T<\/a>eddy Riner\u00a0and sprinter Marie-Jos\u00e9 P\u00e9rec, who lit the cauldron.<\/p>\n

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