Olympics 2008
-1hr for ETOlympic flame journeys by foot, bike, wheelchair
COLWOOD, British Columbia (AP) A day after protests disrupted the relay, Olympic torchbearers ran, rode and rolled through Vancouver Island towns Saturday early in the journey across Canada.
The 106-day relay will visit more than a thousand communities in its trip across provinces and territories by the time it reaches the opening ceremony for the Vancouver Games on Feb. 12.
The first day of the relay was marked by a protest involving several hundred people in downtown Victoria on Friday night. Security officials diverted the route and canceled the runs of several torchbearers.
The flame arrived in Canada on Friday after it traversed Greece for a week. It was ignited in the ruins of an ancient temple in Olympia and handed to Canadians in Athens. The relay route is nearly 28,000 miles, the longest domestic relay in Olympic history.
On Saturday, the flame visited the Fort Rodd Hill national historic site in Colwood. It was welcomed by the Royal Canadian Legion, the 5th B.C. Field Regiment, a Royal Canadian Artillery brass band and spectators dressed in military period dress.
Jeff Hollands, one of 120 veterans carrying the torch, rode his wheelchair to Fort Rodd Hill, the site of a 19th century coast artillery fort. He trained for the relay by lifting milk jugs.
"What an honor to represent my country," Hollands said. "It was just an unbelievable experience."
The torch was paddled across a lake by a team of Olympic rowers on its first day. On Sunday, it will be carried on a skateboard and logging truck. In northern Canada, it will be pulled by dogsled and transported on an Inuit kayak.
Annie Ewart, a 16-year-old aspiring road racer, is one of several cyclists to carry the torch.
"It was really cool," she said. "It was awesome to be able to take the torch while riding my bike."
AP
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