For Nolann Bezard, it's become a daily routine: He opens the X app on his phone and types in the keyword "Phryge." Thousands of videos of the Olympic mascot flash before his eyes. It took him less than 10 seconds to say: "This one, for example: the Phryge running the 100m at the Stade de France, that's me!" He casually added: "Except no one knows it. That video has over a million views, but no one knows it’s me. And that’s totally fine." The 17-year-old, a high school senior in Montargis (central France), is quite comfortable with his half-celebrity, half-anonymous status. Only his close friends know about his secret identity.

The high school student was one of the few lucky enough to wear the Phryge costume – 200 dancers or actors for 90 mascots. A small number, but with huge media exposure. The mascot turned into an endless source of memes on social media. With a wacky soundtrack or the now-iconic shout: "Phryyyyyyyge! It's Phryyyyyge!!," the mascot was seen dancing, attempting a moonwalk, or, in a dramatic moment at the Eiffel Tower Stadium, dramatically falling to the gasps of shocked spectators.

From living rooms to locker rooms, where athletes eagerly asked for photos with them, the Paris 2024 mascots became the object of boundless affection. So much so, in fact, that they took center stage at the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games: clad in sequins or dressed as Léon Marchand, they set the dance floor alight, swaying along with the athletes.

Their real names are Oly and Para. The former is shorter than the latter, who wears a racing blade on her right leg. Their personalities are different, too. According to her designers, Oly measures her every move and strives for success. The Phryge, who is non-gendered, represents elite sport. Para, on the other hand, is all about having fun and taking her fans along for the ride. This was perfect for Nolann, whose tall height meant he often wore the Paralympic mascot costume, taking part in school events from April onward, during the torch relay and throughout the Games. Five months of jumping around and hyping up the crowd.

The mascots "lived their best life," in the words of the Organizing Committee. We saw them everywhere: on a jet-ski in Tahiti, in a river patrol boat on the Seine, on a BMX bike at the Concorde, holding a pistol at a shooting range and leading cheers at the Parc des Princes. We've seen them lifting weights, on horseback, on scooters, alongside rapper Snoop Dogg... and even on French and foreign TV news sets, giving interviews without ever speaking. The Phryges were among the great stars of the Games, sometimes receiving more applause than the medal-winning champions. They were the symbols that captured the spectators' joy and exceeded the organizers' expectations.

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