Law Enforcement Torch Run® Final Leg gets underway
In the land where the Olympics began, the Special Olympics "Flame of Hope" was lit on 15 February 2005 and began its journey from Athens, Greece, to Nagano, Japan, the site of the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
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| Special Olympics athlete Maria Kotti lights the "Flame of Hope" in a ceremony on 15 February in Athens, Greece. The flame was flown by ANA (All Nippon Airways) to Tokyo, Japan, where it will be run through Japan in the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics Final Leg, arriving in Nagano for the Opening Ceremonies of the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games on 25 February. (© AP Photo/Str. All rights reserved.) |
| "Flame of Hope" provides a warm beginning to Special Olympics Slovenia's World Games experience |
Special Olympics athletes, dressed as ancient priestesses, participated in a carefully replicated lighting ceremony based on the Olympic Flame's kindling that typically takes place in Olympus, Greece, before the start of every new Olympiad. Usually, the ceremony is held on the sacred site of Pnyx Hill, facing the storied Acropolis, but due to bad weather, this year's lighting of the "Flame of Hope" was held in the Atrium of Zappeion Hall in Athens. Zappeion Hall is connected with the history of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, having been the main building of the Olympic Village for those Games. It was also the place where Greece's accession to the European Economic Community was signed in May 1979.
"Today here we all celebrate the lighting of the 'Flame of Hope,' said Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyianni. "The slogan of these Games — 'Let's Celebrate Together' — shows the spirit and the atmosphere that the organizers of the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano want to give to this marvelous event."
The 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games will be held from 26 February – 5 March in Nagano, Japan, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics. More than 1,900 Special Olympics athletes from 80 countries are expected to compete in seven winter sports on many of the same venues used in 1998.
"The 2005 World Winter Games will be the first Special Olympics World Games ever held in Asia," said Special Olympics Chairman and CEO Timothy Shriver. "We are very excited about Japan welcoming this event."
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| A dragon-like figure named "Mr. Holly" (right), who is the mascot of Hollyhock, a local professional soccer team, shares in the fun in the 5 Million Person Torch Run, a nationwide event designed to help raise awareness and support for the Special Olympics movement across Japan. In this event, held in Naka-City, Ibaraki Prefecture (located about 120km north of Tokyo), volunteers working for the Hollyhock soccer team offered valuable assistance in implementing the event. (Photo by Yo Nagaya) |
With the lighting of the "Flame of Hope," the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics Final Leg began. This symbolic flame, protected in miner's lamps, travels to the site of the World Games, where law enforcement officers, representing their state, province or nation, act as "Guardians of the Flame" and carry the Special Olympics torch to the Opening Ceremonies of the Games.
In Athens, the journey of the flame began with a trip in an antique car to the Japanese Embassy, it was greeted by Nideo Morita, Chairman, 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games; Hideaki Yasukawa, Chairman, 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games Nagano; and Yoshiko Mitsui, Vice Chairperson, Special Olympics Nippon (Japan). The flame then left to travel more than 9,500 kilometers (nearly 6,000 miles) by air to Tokyo courtesy of ANA (All Nippon Airways). Four days later in Nagano Prefecture it will be merged with a similarly symbolic flame, the "Flame of Friendship," that has traversed Japan in conjunction with a nearly six-month-long awareness-raising effort — the 5 Million Person Torch Run.
The Final Leg Team, made up of 101 individuals — including 10 Special Olympics athletes — representing 19 countries will carry the torch more than 2,000 kilometers to 66 communities on two separate routes before completing the journey to Olympic Memorial Arena in Nagano City on 26 February for the Opening Ceremonies of the Eighth Special Olympics World Winter Games. During the ceremony, the cauldron will be lit, the mission of the 2005 Final Leg Team will have been accomplished and the Games will be declared open.
"These officers are true Guardians of the Flame," said Shriver. "They come from all over the world to run alongside Special Olympics athletes, and each officer represents thousands more back home who steadfastly support the Special Olympics movement. Likewise, the athletes who run with them epitomize the courage and dedication that our athletes display year-round."
"Flame of Hope" provides a warm beginning to Special Olympics Slovenia's World Games experience
The Special Olympics "Flame of Hope" made a special stop on its way from Athens, Greece, to London, England, where it would be carried on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) jet to Japan. The private plane carrying the flame and Hideo Morita, Chairman, 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games, touched down in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where it was met by 16 Special Olympics Slovenia athletes who will compete in the World Games in Nagano.
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| Hideo Morita (left, in suit) and Jure Franko (second from right) helped bring the "Flame of Hope" to Ljubljana airport in Slovenia, where Special Olympics athletes who will compete in the 2005 World Winter Games in Nagano enjoyed an exciting warm-up to the big event. (Photo courtesy Special Olympics Slovenia) |
This brief but significant pause in the flame's journey was made possible by Morita and Jure Franko. Franko, a former Olympic skiier from Slovenia, had hired the private plane to carry the flame from Athens to London, with that all-important stop in Ljubljana. Franko wanted the people of Slovenia, and especially the athletes of Special Olympics Slovenia, to have the chance to greet the "Flame of Hope" and experience a sensation he felt more than 20 years ago.
Franko skied for Yugoslavia in the 1984 Winter Olympics; Yugoslavia had never won a single medal in any winter sport and was thought to have no serious contenders in 1984. However, in the giant slalom, Franko, then just 21, recorded the fourth fastest time of the first run. He then skied the best time of the second run and ended up in second place overall to win Yugoslavia's first Winter Olympics medal.
"I'm very pleased that we can have the flame in Slovenia today, because yesterday was 21 years from the moment that I won the silver medal in Sarajevo," said Franko at a press conference at Lujbljana airport. "I remember that day every second year when the Olympic flame begins to burn, how I felt at that point, and today is no different. I'm especially excited because we were able to give the opportunity to Special Olympics athletes to feel this Olympic atmosphere."
At the airport, Franko and Morita passed the flame to Danica Krajnc, a Special Olympics Slovenia athlete who won three gold medals in athletics at the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games in North Carolina, USA. It also was an exciting moment for the entire Special Olympics Slovenia team that will compete in Nagano. Eight Alpine skiers and eight cross country skiers had a chance to greet the Flame before flying to Nagano on 22 February.
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| Jure Franko (right) passes the "Flame of Hope" to Danica Krajnc, a Special Olympics Slovenia athlete who won three gold medals in athletics at the 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games in North Carolina, USA. (Photo courtesy Special Olympics Slovenia) |
The airport greeting had an additional benefit: raising awareness of Special Olympics Slovenia. The Program received the most media attention it has ever had for an event, attracting two national television broadcasters, one national and two local radio broadcasters, and two national and one local newspapers.
"This has been a fantastic way for Special Olympics Slovenia to begin its World Games experience," said Urska Andrejc, National Director. "I particularly want to thank the ground staff at the airport who ensured that our athletes and guests received a warm welcome and were so well received. "
Also present at the airport was Franci Ekar, Vice President of the Slovenian Olympic Committee. "The Special Olympics athlete athlete oath — 'Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt' — tells us what Special Olympics is all about: pure sport," he said. "I'm also glad that we have Jure Franko here today and that he decided to take part in helping Special Olympics because we are all the same on the ski slope." Ekar also wished all the best to the Special Olympics Slovenia athletes.
Morita, who has been to Slovenia many times, couldn't hide his satisfaction on being with athletes and bringing the flame to Slovenia. He said that Nagano is excited and that the anticipation is growing in the city as its third major sporting event (including the 1998 Olympic and Paralympic Games) draws near. "I don't want to reveal any secrets about the Opening Ceremony, but I'm sure that it will be another great event for the city of Nagano," Morita said before leaving to take the "Flame of Hope" on to London and Nagano. "We are also pleased because the snow conditions are some of the best we have had in recent winters." |
