The Olympic torch is in Vancouver this weekend at the end of a four-month cross-country tour to get Canadians jacked about the 2010 torch relay.
“It’s part of Canadian history, part of Olympic history,” said Kirsten Mihailides, a spokeswoman for the tour, which featured the torches from 11 previous Games including the 1936 Games in Berlin. “You talk to people who have carried the torch and it’s kind of a life-changing moment.”
The relay, which kicks off in Victoria at the end of October, will pass within an hour’s drive of 90 per cent of Canada’s population.
Andy An, 13, an elementary student at University Hill near UBC, found out last week he would be carrying the torch.
“I’m very excited,” said Au as he posed with the torch at a preview event Thursday in Coal Harbour.
Au was selected by Coca-Cola to carry the torch through Sogo Active (a program to encourage physical activity in youths).
He said he was looking forward to keeping the torch as a souvenir.
“I’d show it off to my friends, although the flame might not burn any more.”
