A St. Lawrence student will be among those carrying the Olympic torch on
its way to Salt Lake City for the 2002 games.
Heather Fitts '03, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, is one of about 7,000
"torchbearers" who have been selected. She is scheduled to carry the torch
on December 26 in central Connecticut.
In all, 7,200 people have been selected to carry the Olympic Flame on its
65-day, 13,500-mile journey from Atlanta, Georgia, to Salt Lake City.
Torchbearers were selected from more than 210,000 inspirational nominees.
Fitts is a sociology major who won the Emily Eaton Hepburn Women's Award
for Creative Leadership at Moving-Up Day in 2001. She is a member of Omicron
Delta Kappa leadership honorary, Kappa Delta Sigma sorority, Circle K and
Habitat for Humanity, and has been a member of the women's cross country
team.
Torchbearers were nominated by family members, friends or co-workers
by writing a 50-100-word essay describing how the nominee embodied
the Olympic spirit and inspired an individual or a community.
The Olympic Flame will be lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece,
before traveling to Atlanta - where the flame last rested on American soil -
and starting its cross-country journey through 46 states on December 4,
2001. An average of 180 torchbearers per day will each carry the flame
approximately two-tenths of a mile.
In addition to the 7,200 torchbearers selected, 4,300 torchbearers were
selected through programs involving the Olympic family, which includes
sponsors, providers, Olympians and other athletes from several U.S.
Olympic national governing bodies.
For more information about the Olympic torch relay,
visit the official site.