News / Local Olympic torch bearers named
Details of the route the Olympic will take through Lerwick in the afternoon of Sunday 10 June have been confirmed this morning (Monday).
The flame will be carried by local torch bearers starting at the Clickimin at around 2pm who will be passing the torch along the four mile route along Commercial Road, King Harald Street, Esplanade, the Knab and South Road.
The last part of the torch relay will involve a passage across the Clickimin Loch aboard the Shetland sixareen Vaila Mae.
A list of 13 local torch bearers has now been published. They are: Jim Robertson, Andrea Strachan, Belle Spence, Bryden Priest, Christopher Rocks, Emily Shaw, Faye Richardson, John Nicolson, Julie Grant, Maggie Adamson, Matthew Cox, Megan Keppie and Sharon Deyall. More may be confirmed at a later date.
Jim Robertson, a long standing committee member of the Lerwick Amateur Swimming Club, said he was “thrilled” to have been selected.
He said: “It’ll be a great experience and I am very much looking forward to my chance to carry the flame around Lerwick.”
Another torch bearer is Unst leisure centre manager Matthew Cox. He has been nominated through Bank of Scotland’s nationwide search for his considerable commitment to extracurricular activities in the local swimming club and also as a retained fire fighter on the island.
“It is definitely a really huge honour for us. I wasn’t expecting it at all. It was just nice to be nominated but when I found out I had been picked I was really pleased.
“We are sometimes a little bit away from it all so it is going to be great to be involved in the Olympics in some way,” the 42 year old said.
Shetland Islands Council’s manager responsible for sports, Neil Watt, added: “It will be a real honour to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay to Lerwick and an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the public to see the Olympic Flame in Shetland.
“For those local individuals selected as torch bearers, it will be an unforgettable experience too.”
Eight thousands torch bearer have been selected nationwide from around 90,000 applications.
The chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), Sebastian Coe, said: “Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life. “The flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the games to our streets.
“Now the people know the route the Olympic Flame will be carried along, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it Shetland’s moment to shine.”
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