Published:
May
19, 2012
Mayor visits Burnham's Olympic torch bearers ahead of their big
day

Burnham-On-Sea's
Mayor has wished the town's Olympic torch bearers well during
a special training session held on the town's beach.
Burnham's
torch bearers Arthur Gilbert, Jason Vickers, Tony Deahl, Katrina
Doyle and Sarah Milner Simonds were visited by Mayor Ken Smout
during a unique training session on Friday evening (May 18th).
Ken
told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "In this year of community spirit,
when we will be celebrating the Queen's Jubilee and Olympics,
I am proud that we have residents from Burnham representing us
in the torch relay. This
is a such a high-profile event of international importance and
I wish them all a lot of luck for the big day."
Sara
Cox-Conklin from Burnham's Swim and Sports Academy led the 'torch
bearer training' when a 300-metre long area of Burnham seafront,
identical to the length of road the torch bearers will be running,
was set up to help them pace themselves during the two minute
run.
"This
is one occasion you don't want to rush - the torch bearers want
to savour every monent of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,
so this session helped them to pace themselves during their two
minutes with the Olympic torch to enure they maximise their enjoyment
and boost their confidence," Sara told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
91
year-old Arthur Gilbert, who was recently named the worlds
oldest triathlete and was awarded an MBE for his charity work
in 2008, will be running with the Olympic torch through Minehead
at 4.28pm on Monday.
And
Burnham's Katrina Doyle, 13, who bravely overcame leukaemia as
a child and has gone on to raise thousands of pounds for cancer
charity CLIC Sargent, will be running through Dunster at 4.40pm.
Tony
Deahl, who is Chairman of Burnham Hospital's League of Friends
and a volunteer at Burnham lifeboat station, will be running with
the torch at 10.55am through Wells on Tuesday.
Jason
Vickers, who is well-known in Burnham for running marathons in
aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and has raised over £11,000,
will be taking part in the torch relay on Tuesday at 10.08am in
Glastonbury.
Burnham's
Sarah Milner Simonds, who is Horticultural Programme Manager at
Bridgwater College and was nominated for her inspirational work
as a community gardener in high-density social housing areas,
will be running with the flame through Dunster at 4.38pm on Monday.
Sarah
said: "The honour of carrying the flame in the medieval village
of Dunster is almost overwhelming. To think that the flame has
come all the way from Athens and will ignite the cauldron in the
Olympic Stadium on 27th July at the start of The Games is incredible.
I am determined to do Somerset proud on the day and try really
hard not to drop the torch in my excitement!"
Jason
told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "It's a great honour to have been
picked and I'm really looking forward to taking part - it will
be an exciting day!"
Arthur
added: "I am really thrilled to have been picked - I was
so pleased to receive the official email confirming that I will
be taking part. It will be such a memorable day and I hope lots
of people will come out along the route."
Tony
said: "It's a great honour to be chosen and I will be taking
part on behalf of all those people in Burnham and Highbridge who
do charity work in our local community."
Katrina,
who was a Burnham and Highbridge Carnival Princess in 2010, said:
"I am really excited to be taking part - it's such an honour
to be chosen."
The
Olympic Flame arrived from Greece on Friday evening (18th May)
and an 8,000 mile Torch Relay leaves Lands End on Saturday
before travelling across the whole UK in 70 days.
Hopes
that the Olympic Flame would come through Burnham-On-Sea or Highbridge
were dashed last year with the unveiling of the route, as we reported
here.
Having
made its way up through Cornwall and Devon, the Olympic flame
will be carried by an average of 115 torchbearers each day and
the final torchbearer will carry the Flame into the Olympic Stadium
during the Opening Ceremony on 27th July when the cauldron will
be lit, and the London 2012 Games will be opened. The full route
is shown here.

Pictured:
The 'torch bearer training' taking place on Burnham seafront on
Friday night
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