2014 Torch Relay Start; CBC and Visa Team Up; New TTOC President

Sochi Torch Relay Start

Children from one of the world’s most remote regions will start the Olympic flame relay for next year’s Winter Games in Sochi, an official from the region has said.

The children from the city of Yakutsk, the capital of Russia’s vast and sparsely populated Siberian region of Yakutia, will start the flame’s 65,000-kilometer journey after it is lit in a ceremony at Olympia.

The high-profile role is an unusual benefit of a town twinning agreement, Yakutsk mayor Aisen Nikolaev said.

"Children from Olympia’s twin towns carry the flame after it is lit in ancient Olympia. Last year, for example, after the flame was lit for the London Olympics, children from a twin town in Japan carried the flame," he said while visiting Greece as part of a trade delegation.

"Now there’s already an agreement that the flame for the Sochi Olympics will be carried by children from Yakutsk."

The torch relay for Sochi 2014 will start October 7 and is set to be the longest in history. The Games will run from February 7 to 23 next year.

The region of Yakutia is home to fewer than a million people despite covering more than three million square kilometers, enough to make it the largest sub-national region in the world. Yakutsk has a population of around 270,000 and is a center for the diamond trade.

Published by exclusive arrangement with RIA Novosti, host news agency of Sochi 2014.

Visa Teams with CBC for Sochi

Visa Canada was announced as the first partner with CBC and Radio Canada for the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

The deal was announced on Monday with the TOP Sponsor highlighting Canadian Olympic success on the networks through its "Go World" campaign. The multi-platform ad campaign hopes to ramp up enthusiasm ahead of Sochi.

"We're thrilled to have a significant sponsor like Visa Canada on board, to bring the Olympic Winter Games home to Canadians," said Alan Dark, General Manager, CBC Revenue Group. "Sochi 2014 will be an exciting time for both CBC/Radio‐Canada and Canadians alike, so we are pleased to have the support of a major industry leader to help make the experience the very best it can be."

New TTOC President

Brian Lewis is the new president of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee. Jones replaces Larry Romany who is term limited.

The election took place on Monday with Jones, the former secretary general, defeating Richard Young.

"I think it was an important process for the TTOC to go through at this time and I think the organization will be stronger for it," Jones said following his election. "Richard Young presented a creditable case and valid arguments...Now that the campaigning is over, it is now about all the parties working together for the Olympic Movement."

Annette Knott is the new secretary general.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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