The flame of the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, which was lit in Athens, Greece, has arrived in South Korea, the host country, to continue its domestic torch tour .Jin Jong-oh, President of the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games Organizing Committee, returned home from Athens on the afternoon of the 8th through Incheon International Airport with the flame. The flame, which was lit on March 3 at the Panathinaikos Stadium in Athens, Greece, where the first Olympic Games were held, arrived in South Korea today after a relay .The torch was carried by four Winter Youth Olympic Games supporters waiting at the arrival hall, and Jin, who was responsible for bringing the Olympic flame to Korea, smiled broadly as he wore a flower necklace around his neck. The torch continued to glow and sparkle as the supporters placed it on a pre-prepared pedestal.
Jong-oh Jin, as well as freestyle skiing women’s mogul national team member Yoon Shin-young (Bong Pyeong Go) and figure skating men’s singles national team member Kim Hyun-gyeom (Han AD), who traveled from Greece to participate in the torch relay, expressed their excitement for the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games. “For the Youth Olympic Winter Games in a meaningful place called Greece, we hand-picked the flame just like the adult Olympic flame and brought it safely back to Korea,” said Jong-oh Jin, adding, “Seeing Yoon Shin and 카지노 Kim Hyun-gyeom running with the flame made me think that the journey for the dreams and hopes of the youth has begun.” “It’s a smaller scale than the adult Olympics, but I hope it will be an opportunity for all the youth around the world to participate and become a festival rather than an Olympic ranking,” he said, adding, “We are actively supporting K-culture as a nation, so we are working hard to make the Olympics something that everyone can enjoy together.”
Yoon Shin-i said, “I had a great experience carrying the torch in Greece,” and vowed to do well at the upcoming Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games. Kim Hyun-gyeom also said, “As I ran as a torchbearer in Greece, I feel more special this time,” and added, “I am glad that it has given me great motivation in my future athletic career.” “I think there will be a lot of tension as it is a big event called the Olympic Games, but I hope it will be a competition where athletes can show off their skills to the fullest as they have been working hard.”Muncho, the mascot of the Games, also appeared at the arrival site to greet the torch relay team .Meanwhile, the torch will be moved to the Daegwallyeong 119 Safety Center of the Pyeongchang Fire Department in Gangwon Province, where it will be safely stored until the end of the Games after the torch tour.
On the 11th, 100 days before the Games, the torch will start its 80-day, 23-city torch tour with a ceremony at Seoul Plaza.The remaining 20 days of the torch tour will be dedicated to a “Special Torch Tour” that will visit underprivileged communities in the four host cities (Gangneung, Pyeongchang, Jeongseon, and Hwaseong).The theme of the Gangwon 2024 Torch Tour is “Youth with dreams and passions, united by sports, embark on a torch tour journey towards a brilliant future,” and the motto is “A Journey of Solidarity.Unlike the adult Olympic torch relay, the Gangwon 2024 Torch Tour will not feature a relay of runners on the road, but only a lighting ceremony where torchbearers will light the flame in 18 provinces, including Seoul, Busan, Sejong, Jeju, Gwangju and Gangwon.Of the 109 torchbearers, 82 are youths, and programs such as the Olympic Games Experience and the Olympic OX Quiz will be held for participants before the torch lighting ceremony to showcase the unique features of the Youth Olympic Games.
The number of torchbearers for the torch tour, 109, was chosen in honor of Hangeul Day, October 9.The torchbearers represented various fields and all age groups, including sports dreamers, people with disabilities, veterans, athletes from sports ODA recipient countries, teachers, and the elderly. “As we mark the start of Gangwon 2024 with the lighting of the torch, we will thoroughly prepare for the rest of the Games so that youth, the future generation of the world, can create memories that will last a lifetime in Korea,” said Vice Minister Jang Jang-ran of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games, which will bring together youth from around the world for goodwill competition and friendship, will kick off on January 19 and run through February 1 in Pyeongchang, Gangneung, Jeongseon, and Heungseong, Gangwon Province.