Australia Up Close Fire of Torch Ignites Olympic Excitement By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
五輪聖火リレーで盛り上がる豪 シドニーオリンピック開幕まで残すところ二ヵ月——オーストラリアでは目下、ギリシャより届けられた聖火のリレーが進行中で、五輪気分が盛り上がっています。聖火は延べ1万1,000人の手によって2万7,000キロを運ばれ、最終目的地のシドニーに向かいます。

It was an Olympic event every Australian could enter. An event that made our hearts swell with pride and veins pump with excitement.

The Olympic flame was lit in the town of Olympia, Greece, on May 10. It arrived in the central Australian outback town of Uluru on June 8, then made its way to Queensland where I live.

In Australia, the Olympic torch will be carried by 11,000 Australians for more than 27,000 km until it reaches its final destination in Sydney on Sept. 15 for the launch of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Its journey through 1,000 Australian towns and suburbs over 100 days is a big event for all Australians.

Australia is the only country besides Greece to have competed at every modern Olympic Games since 1896. As a passionate sporting nation, Australia is one of only five countries to have hosted the Games twice.

The year 2000 torch relay is the longest relay in the history of the Games. Throughout its journey the torch is carried on foot, as well as by plane, train, tram, surf boat, camel and ferry.

The highlight of its journey through Queensland was when the flame traveled under water at the Great Barrier Reef. Australians made history when they designed a replica torch that could carry a burning flame under water for the first time ever during the relay.

After nine months of testing, a catamaran carried the torch 40 km off the Queensland coast where it was submerged in the sea for just under three minutes.

When the torch arrived on the Gold Coast my friends and family joined the convoy of people who wanted to catch a glimpse of the flame as it traveled north along the Queensland coastline.

The excitement was contagious as traffic stopped and people waited in anticipation for the torch to arrive. It was an occasion not to be missed, because of its historic value and the fact it is a "once in a lifetime" experience for everyone.

Gold Coast Mayor Gary Baildon welcomed the torch relay to the center of the Gold Coast on June 12. His son, Olympic swimmer Andrew Baildon, carried the torch to the ceremony where he joined his father to relay the flame. Andrew fought to hold back his tears as he carried the flame, describing it as a "very emotional moment."

We followed the flame as it traveled on to other destinations and passed through rugged outback of Northern Territory where Ayers Rock is.

Australian hockey gold-medalist Nova Peris-Kneebone was the first person to carry the torch in Australia. Torch-bearers were treated like celebrities as onlookers approached them for photographs and autographs. Happiness and pride were transparent on the faces of all of the runners.

Torch-bearers were nominated to have the honor of participating in the relay. All sorts of admirable Australians were represented, including local Olympians and sporting heroes, people with severe ill nesses, celebrities, singers, charity workers, blind people, intellectually disabled, schoolteachers, farmers and Aborigines.

One of the runners we met was Steve Griffin, a singing teacher nominated by one of his students. Many onlookers shared in Steve's excitement by approaching him and his family to have a turn at holding the torch and asking questions about the run.

"Each time the Games come around my wife and I and the children have more or less taken the time off so we don't miss a thing during the Olympics — right from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony," said Steve. "Because I have followed the Games so closely I have learned a lot about the torch relay and how there is quite a ritual involved."

The Olympic flame was first lit in 776 B.C. for the very first Olympic Games in Olympia. The torch design incorporates the Sydney Opera House, the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and the curve of the Australian Aboriginal boomerang. Its three layers represent earth, fire and water. To date, there have been no problems during the torch relay.

Seeing the Olympic flame is one golden sporting moment I will remember each time I watch the Games for the rest of my life.

As I finish my university degree this year and head into the workforce, this will be my last article for "Australia Up Close." Next month my sister, Chelsea, will continue to bring to you highlights of life in Australia, including the excitement of the Olympic Games in September. All the best from Down Under!

Shukan ST: July 14, 2000

(C) All rights reserved