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Jackie Chan to Carry Torch Ahead of Paralympic Opening Ceremony 

Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan sings on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) in Beijing, on April 21, 2023. (AFP)
Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan sings on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) in Beijing, on April 21, 2023. (AFP)
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Jackie Chan to Carry Torch Ahead of Paralympic Opening Ceremony 

Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan sings on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) in Beijing, on April 21, 2023. (AFP)
Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan sings on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the 13th Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) in Beijing, on April 21, 2023. (AFP)

Hong Kong-born martial arts actor Jackie Chan was named on Sunday as one of the torchbearers in the lead-up to the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Paris.

The 70-year-old, known for his stunts and acrobatic fight scenes, will carry the flame on Wednesday afternoon in the French capital just hours before the opening ceremony, the organizing committee announced.

French actress Elsa Zylberstein, and dancer/choreographer Benjamin Millepied will also take part in the torch relay.

As with the Olympic opening ceremony, Wednesday's event will take place beyond the confines of the Stade de France, with a parade down the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde in central Paris.

The flame, which was lit on Saturday in Stoke Mandeville in the UK, the historic birthplace of the Paralympic Games, arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel on Sunday, carried by wheelchair fencing medalist Emmanuelle Assmann.

"It's all about inscribing sport in the hearts of people with disabilities," said French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera who was on hand to welcome the flame, alongside Tony Estanguet, head of the organizing committee.

The flame was due to continue its journey where it would be "multiplied" into 12 Paralympic flames, which will be carried by 1,000 torchbearers in around 50 towns, in 12 simultaneous relays.

These 12 relays will converge on Paris, where the flame will arrive on Wednesday for the opening ceremony.

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F1 Constructors’ Title Now Wide Open, Says Wolff 

Formula One F1 - Dutch Grand Prix - Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands - August 25, 2024 Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff ahead of the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Dutch Grand Prix - Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands - August 25, 2024 Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff ahead of the race. (Reuters)
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F1 Constructors’ Title Now Wide Open, Says Wolff 

Formula One F1 - Dutch Grand Prix - Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands - August 25, 2024 Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff ahead of the race. (Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Dutch Grand Prix - Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort, Netherlands - August 25, 2024 Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff ahead of the race. (Reuters)

McLaren and Dutch Grand Prix winner Lando Norris have blown the Formula One constructors' championship wide open with Red Bull in danger of being overhauled, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

Norris took the chequered flag 22.8 seconds clear of Red Bull's home hero Max Verstappen at a windy Zandvoort on Sunday, finishing with a fastest lap flourish to secure an additional point.

While the Briton is a massive 70 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' standings with nine races remaining, McLaren are now only 30 behind reigning champions Red Bull in the constructors' battle.

"He (Norris) has basically annihilated all of the competition with that fastest lap at the end, with a 42-lap old hard tire and a 20 second gap," Wolff told reporters after the race.

"So I think this championship, the constructors' championship, is wide open in my opinion and that's good for Formula One."

With sprint races inflating the available points tally at some weekends to come, the gap is one that could be closed relatively quickly.

Red Bull scored 54 points from the China sprint weekend alone in April while McLaren scored 27 points more than Red Bull in Hungary last month.

McLaren have outscored once-dominant Red Bull in eight of the last nine races while Mercedes, fourth overall, have done so in four of the last five.

There have been seven different race winners so far, the most since 2012, and while McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have triumphed with both their drivers, Sergio Perez has become Red Bull's Achilles heel.

The Mexican has scored just 36 points in his last nine races but his team have stuck with him in the hope his contribution will pick up again - and the absence of a clearly better alternative.

While Mercedes are 158 points off the top, they have won three races this season - the same as McLaren and one more than third-placed Ferrari who are 34 points behind Norris' team and have their home Italian Grand Prix next up on Sunday.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner pointed out that Sunday was still only the fourth time this season that triple world champion Verstappen had come away from a race weekend with his points lead reduced.

He recognized, however, that Red Bull - who started the season with Verstappen taking seven successive poles and winning seven of the first 10 races - had issues to resolve and McLaren currently had the quicker car.

"It can change very quickly, and that means it can change back the other way as well," he said.

"McLaren has been the benchmark car over the last few races, we're very acutely aware that we need to respond to that.

"We're used to being in championship fights over the years. We'll dig deep and we're going to fight with everything we've got over the remaining nine races."