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 At
the very first Olympic Games in 776 B.C., the ancient Greeks
held a relay where athletes competed by passing on a torch
in a race to the finish line. This tradition -- though no
longer a contest -- has continued for centuries and this
year marks the first global journey of the Olympic Flame.
On June 19, 144 lucky people had the chance to carry this
flame on a 34-mile route throughout the five boroughs of
New York. The flame will be passed through 20 more cities
before it finally arrives in Athens for the start ofthe
2004 Olympic Games in August.
On
this warm Saturday evening, a crowd of New Yorkers and other
Tri-State residents lined 124th Street in Marcus Gravey
Park to see the torchbearers pass by with theOlympic flame.
Robert, a 10-year-old Harlem resident and his younger sister
Nialah said They spent three hours outside their apartment
with their family waiting for the torch. "It's a new
experience," Robert said as he hugged his sister.
Lou
Schlanger, a 48-year-old gym teacher from the South Bronx
high school, carried the flame 500 meters down 124th Street
while a group of his students cheered him on. Though he
ran the entire time he held the torch, he said wasn’t
tired. "I'm thrilled," he said. "It was such
a great honor."
The
crowd’s excitement was incredible as soon as the floats
introduced Lou Schlanger, who came running with the Olympic
flame to light another torchbearer’s torch. Picture
cameras went off; red and blue banners were waved, and the
loud threw their arms up and screamed. It only took those
few seconds, to light another torchbearer’s flame,
to share the global experience.
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