Sochi 2014 Paralympic Torch Relay travels the Urals

The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Torch Relay took place in the cities of the Urals Federal District on Friday. The Flame was lit and handed to the torchbearers in four cities in the Urals - Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Khanty-Mansiysk and Noyabrsk. Sochi 2014 Relay torchbearers included nominees of Presenting Partners: the Coca-Cola Company, OSAO "Ingosstrakh", OAO "Russian Railways" and "VOLKSWAGEN Group Rus".

The Yekaterinburg urban stage of the Sochi 2014 Relay was attended by 102 torchbearers. The flame of the Sochi 2014 Paralympics was lit during a colorful firework display, after which the Relay was started by the first torchbearer in the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Region - champion and winner of the Paralympic Games in Athens, Beijing and London Artem Zinovyev. He was joined by Gennady Dvornikov, World Deaflympics champion, and world record holder in the 5,000 m; Alevtina Elesina - twice champion of the Paralympic Games, and repeated champion of Europe and Russia in ski racing; and Olesya Krasnomovets - Olympic medalist in 2004. The procession in Yekaterinburg was completed by Sergei Zashikhin, president of the regional curling federation. Watched by tens of thousands of spectators, he lit the city Cauldron.

In Tyumen, the flame of the Sochi 2014 Paralympics was lit during the theatrical presentation based on the fairy tale The Little Humpbacked Horse, and the spark was obtained from a feather of the magical Firebird. Torchbearers in the Tyumen Region included 30 people, among them - Paralympic athlete Lyubov Vasilyeva, organizer of local, regional and inter-regional competitions among people with disabilities Andrey Tolstoy, members of the Tyumen regional sports federations for the blind and Russian and Tyumen regional medalist Stanislav Zaytsev and Aleksandr Zavyalov, as well as master of sports in track athletics (deaf sports) Daniil Bagan. The vibrant completion of the urban stage was the lighting of the Cauldron by the final torchbearer, Andrey Berdyugin.

In Khanty-Mansiysk, the main participants of the Paralympic Torch procession through the city included 15 torchbearers. Among them were multiple winners of international competitions Anton Mikhaylov, Denis Maksimenko and Mikhail Slinkin. Torchbearers passed through the main streets of the capital of Ugra and reached the main sports venue of the district - the Aleksandr Filipenko Winter Sports Center. There, the final torchbearer, Honored Master of Sports, champion and silver medalist of the Deaflympics, silver medalist of Europe and the world Pavel Fatin lit the city Cauldron.

In Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Torch Relay was held on the streets of the city of Noyabrsk. The spark from the lighting of the first torch was received during a theatrical production, in which Shamans lit the Flame from a bonfire in front of the stage. The flame of the Sochi 2014 Paralympics in Noyabrsk was transferred between 50 torchbearers. The honor of being the first torchbearer in Noyabrsk fell to athlete Olga Kazankevich. The final torchbearer was a member of the Russian team, participant of the Paralympic Games in London, bronze medalist at the International Powerlifting tournament in Dubai, and winner of the Russia Powerlifting Championship among people with disabilities Karen Abramyants. The culmination of the celebration was the lighting of the Cauldron.

After extinguishing the cauldrons in each of the four cities of the Urals Federal District, the transfer ceremony to Sochi took place, during which the host city of the Paralympic Games was passed the symbolic flame, where in Sochi on March 5, the Paralympic Flame Lighting Ceremony will take place at the main Cauldron in the Olympic Park.

For further information, please contact the Press Service for the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee

sochi2014.com | media@sochi2014.com | +7 495 984 2014

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