Today is the opening day in Vancouver, Canada, of the
main sporting event of the year - the XXI Winter Olympics, where athletes from
80 countries will be vying for the top awards in 15 Olympic disciplines.
The Olympic flame,
which has flickered across the faces of thousands of torchbearers and the
millions of Canadians who watched their journey across the vast country,
arrived home in Vancouver on Thursday to streets lined with waving fans. The
relay has involved 12,000 torchbearers who have covered roughly 45,000
kilometers in every corner of the country.
The torch, that
has visited every Canadian province and territory since it arrived in Victoria
last October, started in Olympia, Greece, last October at a ceremony that used
the rays of the sun and a special mirror to light the flame. After touring that
country, the flame was put inside a miner's lantern and flown to Canada.
In Russia, meanwhile, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took part in
a live video linkup with members of this country's Olympic team in Vancouver on
Thursday, saying he was confident they would be successful. Turning to the
ongoing preparations for the 2014 Sochi Games, he said that six Olympic
facilities had already been completed there while work continued at many other
sites.
Hockey player Alexei Morozov will lead the Russian
Olympic team into Vancouver's BC Place Stadium as the national flag bearer.
Morozov led this country's national squad in 2008 and 2009 World Championship
finals where Russia captured both titles playing against Canada. Many hockey
fans and experts hope that the teams will face off again in the finals of the
2010 Olympics.
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