Carl Lewis, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams endure rocky Seine boat ride with Olympic flame

Carl Lewis, as a nine-time Olympic champion and IOC sportsman of the 20th centuryhas faced some formidable opponents over the years. But on Friday at the opening ceremony of the Paris Games, he nearly found himself pinned against his toughest opponent yet: a rocking boat.

The former sprinter was in a boat with fellow gold medalists Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Nadia Comăneci as they sailed noisily down the Seine, carrying the Olympic flame to the traditional cauldron lighting ceremony.

It soon became clear, however, that this would be no pleasure trip. During a ride that seemed to last only slightly shorter than Nadal’s epic five-setter against Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, the Spaniard seemed concerned that the flame would be snuffed out by a strong headwind, while Williams and Lewis seemed understandably alarmed at the prospect of holding an open flame in one hand while trying to keep their balance with the other. Only Comăneci, perhaps unsurprisingly for a woman who has won two Olympic gold medals on the balance beam, seemed unconcerned as the boat bobbed up and down. At one point Williams seemed to gasp with fear and hold on to Comăneci for reassurance.

“Carl Lewis hates this boat ride and it is already my highlight of the 2024 Olympics,” said one user on X.

“The best part of the ceremony was Carl Lewis, Serena Williams and others on the boat, wearing life jackets, getting soaked and not knowing what was going on!” wrote another.

The four athletes – and the flame – eventually reached dry land, where the torch was passed to several French sporting legends before being lit by two of the home country’s Olympic champions, judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-José Pérec.