The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has revealed the names of the first torchbearers selected for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay, which is presented by Coca-Cola, OSAO "Ingosstrakh" and OAO "Russian Railways". Nearly 6,000 torchbearers have already been chosen out of 140 000 candidates. The torchbearers represent all 83 regions of Russia and were selected based on criteria defined by the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee.
The campaign for the selection of Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay torchbearers took place from January 15 to May 15, 2013. The three Relay Presenting Partners, as well as the 83 regions of the Russian Federation took part in the selection process.
The torchbearer candidates were selected because of their commitment to a healthy lifestyle and sports, and the Olympic values of friendship, excellence, and respect.
The Sochi 2014 torchbearers include athletes, public figures, teachers, doctors, rescue workers, military personnel, coaches, military and labor heroes, students, pensioners and many others. Among those who have the honor of carrying the Olympic flame during the Torch Relay are the world's first female cosmonaut and Hero of the Soviet Union Valentina Tereshkova, four-time Olympic champion gymnast Alexei Nemov, three-time Olympic champion in synchronized swimming Maria Kiseleva, bronze medalist at the Paralympic Summer Games in London Aleksey Chuvashev, honored coach of Russia in gymnastics Nadezhda Nabokova, honored teacher of Russian Federation Gildagart Bott, cardiovascular surgeon Maksim Strakhov, and popular blogger Sergey Dolya.
So far, more than 300 participants of the Relay are people with disabilities. Currently, the youngest torchbearer is 14 years old, and the oldest is 93. The average age of the torchbearers is 24 to 33 years old.
The selected torchbearers also comprise 136 representatives of foreign countries including the United States, Brazil, Japan, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, as well as Great Britain and Spain.
The final list of 14,000 Torchbearers will be revealed by the end of September, 2013.
The names of the torchbearers will be published on the Olympic Torch Relay website: torchrelay.sochi2014.com, in the section of the region in which the torchbearers will run.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014 President and CEO noted:
"Residents from all regions of Russia will participate in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay. Everybody has had the chance to become a torchbearer and every attempt has been made to represent a wide range of different backgrounds of candidates. The torchbearers represent the best of Russia. It is a great experience to be a part of the Relay and it is something each city can get behind and feel proud of."
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