The torch relay for the Shanghai 2007 Special Olympics World
Summer Games on Tuesday was held in Sydney, Australia's largest
city.
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Twelve Special Olympics athletes representing Australia joined 40
law enforcement personnel, two Shanghai Special Olympics
representative athletes and two Chinese law enforcement personnel
carried the torch in the Flame of Hope Law Enforcement Torch Run
through Sydney.
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On Friday morning, the Flame of Hope was welcomed by Chinese lion
performance at the starting point, the Luna Park, where the
official handover ceremony of the Minor's Lamp, which carried the
flame, was held before the torch run started.
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Special Olympics Australia Chairman Rex Langthorne and Special
Olympics Asia Pacific Managing Director Troy Greisen were among the
VIPs attending the handover ceremony.
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Langthorne said Australians are deeply honored that Sydney was
chosen as one of the cities of the world to receive the flame on
its way to Shanghai games.
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"Our Australian team of 128 Intellectually Disabled athletes plus
support people certainly look forward to visiting your city in 10
days time to enjoy some Chinese hospitality and culture plus of
course win some medals during the Games," he said.
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He told Xinhua after the handover ceremony that the Special
Olympics torch relay in Sydney will certainly promote the course of
Special Olympics in Australia by encouraging more volunteers and
sponsors to be involved.
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Among 180,000 intellectually disabled people in Australia, only
more than 4,000 are Special Olympics athletes, he said, adding he
hopes this number will double in the future.
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The runners passed Sydney's iconic sites including the Sydney
Harbor Bridge, the Chinese Gardens in Darling Harbor, the Sydney
Town Hall and finally reached the last stop, the Government House,
where the official welcome ceremony for the flame was held.
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Andrew Scipione, police commissioner of the state of New South
Wales with Sydney as its capital, lighted the Flame of Hope
Cauldron with two Australian athletes.
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Some other activities were also held during the day. After the
torch run, a number of Australian and Chinese Special Olympics
athletes and law enforcement personnel carried the torch to the
summit of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
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A welcome ceremony was also held in the Consulate-General of the
People's Republic of China in Sydney Friday night, attracting more
than 300 guests.
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Sydney is the final leg of the international tour of the 2007
Shanghai Special Olympics torch run, which marks the first time the
Flame of Hope has traveled the globe in a single event and the
first time the torch has been to Australia.
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The flame was lit in Athens in June and reached Cairo, London,
Washington DC, Seoul and Tokyo during its 35,200 kilometers journey
across five continents to pass on the spirit and friendship of
athletes and raise public attention and respect for individuals
with intellectual or physical disabilities.
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It will be transported to China later this month for the games in
Shanghai in October. More than 10,000 athletes and coaches, 20,000
family members from more than 160 countries and regions are
expected to show up at the event.
(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2007)