[OLY] IOC head carries Olympic torch on opening day: Yonhap

By Lim Chang-won Posted : February 9, 2018, 11:19 Updated : February 13, 2018, 15:53

[Yonhap News Photo]


SEOUL, Feb. 09 (Aju News) -- International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach carried the torch for the Winter Olympics on Friday, the day of its opening ceremony.

Bach, a former Olympic fencing champion for West Germany, joined the torch relay on its final day, running a route stretching from the International Broadcasting Centre to the Main Press Centre inside the Alpensia Resort in Pyeongchang.

The day's relay began with tennis instructor Kim Il-sun, former coach of the Australian Open semifinalist Chung Hyeon, followed by Lee Hee-beom, head of Pyeongchang's Olympic organizing committee.

Choi Seung-hun, who sang the South Korean national anthem at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, received the flame from Lee and then passed it on to Bach. Bach then carried the flame for about 200 meters before meeting the next runner, Miroslav Lajcak, president of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

"I do the torch relay now for the seventh time, but every time it's like a first time," Bach said. "It's a very special and emotional moment."

(Yonhap)
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