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Show . . . . . f , i;:t'N 1 photo by NanChalat Ignited in Greece and carried hand to hand across the United States, the Olympic Torch passed through Park City last Thursday morning. Park City gives torch a warm welcome by NanChalat Last Thursday morning Kearns Boulevard was lined with spectators spec-tators hoping for a glimpse of the Olympic torch on its way from New York City to Los Angeles. They weren't disappointed. The runners arrived in Park City well ahead of schedule. And when the flame was passed to Special Olympics Director Jim Murphy the fans went wild. Murphy ran his kilometer through a corridor of waving flags and cheering friends. Red, white and blue helium balloons were released and a hot air balloon lifted off to float above the crowd. At the intersection of Kearns and Utah Highway 224 Murphy lit a torch for Special Olympic athlete Charles Newsome who was so enthusiastic about carrying it the whole caravan had to speed up to keep pace with him. Newsome will compete in the International Special Olympic Olym-pic Games in Park City this winter. win-ter. From Park City the runners headed for Salt Lake City and then to Idaho. By the time the flame reaches Los Angeles it will have traveled hand to hand 9,000 miles thorugh 31 states and will have been carried by approximately ap-proximately 4,000 torch bearers. In Park City the flame had a dual meaning. It represented both the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the coming Special Olympic Games this winter in Park City. According to Park City Mayor Jack Green, who spoke at a press conference after the torch relay, the Special Olympic games are a reminder that "the Olympic spirit often comes from the heart not the legs." |