(ATR) Three-time sailing Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie launched the Olympic torch relay in Britain Saturday before huge crowds and under sunny skies.
He is the first of 8,000 torchbearers who will take the Olympic flame on a 12,000km journey around the U.K. Over 70 days, it will pass through more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities. The flame arrives in London on July 20 seven days before the opening ceremony.
After the deluge in Athens for the handover ceremony Thursday, the weather could not have been better for the milestone event at Land's End in the county of Cornwall, southwest England. As Ainslie said: "We put on some beautiful Cornish weather for everybody."
London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton and deputy chairman Keith Mills and board member Jonathan Edwards joined the thousands of flag-waving locals who had gathered at the landmark site. The famous signpost shows the distance to New York as 3147 miles and John O'Groats, the northern most point of Scotland, a mere 874 miles away.
Ainslie stood by the signpost, looking cheerful but nervous to await the lantern housing the Olympic flame. That was delivered bang on time by a Royal Naval Air Station helicopter, which touched down nearby to huge applause.
A naval officer brought the flame to the 35-year-old and it was lit with the help of one of the Metropolitan Police officers whose chief remit is to ensure the torch is not extinguished on its U.K. trek and to protect it from any protests that might threaten the flame.
Ainslie: "It's incredibly special"
A massive grin spread across the face of Ainslie, the Cornwall-born sailor who won golds at the Beijing, Athens and Sydney Olympics, and a silver at Atlanta 1996, as the gas was ignited and the flame shot into the air.
"I was almost in shock really, it was an amazing moment," he told reporters.
"Very proud for everyone involved to kickstart this period as we build up to the Olympics. The atmosphere is just electric, it's fantastic.
"I would say that this particular moment ranks right up there with winning a gold medal. It's incredibly special."
Ainslie had nothing scripted - he joked that he didn't know whether he was going "to run, sprint, walk, or crawl".
In the end, the sailing great half-jogged because he didn't want to rush it and to allow the crowds that had flocked to Land's End from far and wide to savour the moment and "let everyone feel a part of it and to touch the torch a bit". "It just felt natural, everyone was so good and so excited," he said.
He added: "It's probably one of the more nervous moments in my life. It's just so special really for everyone to see the torch and feel a part of it. I did alright I think, at least I didn't trip over."
Ainslie had a low-key Friday night at a prize-giving the Finn worldchampionships; he secured his sixth world title in Falmouth, Cornwall earlier this week.
It was the perfect tune-up for the Olympics; the medals race day on Aug. 5 is on Ainslie's radar. "Everyone realises it's just around the corner and as an athlete these days are crucial now. Every day counts and you've got to make sure you get the preparation right to build-up to the big event," he said.
After his torch relay role, he's planning to "get back down to earth" and throw himself back into training.
Asked by Around the Rings if he was on track: "Yes. Quietly confident. It's a long way to go in terms of getting the preparation right... got to keep working hard and keep focused.
Massive Turnout at First City on Torch Route
When ATR caught up with the Olympic flame in Truro, the first city on Saturday's 220km section of the overall relay, there was a carnival atmosphere as the sun shonebrightly down on proceedings.
Police told ATR that around 25,000 people had turned out to line the streets of the city whose best-known resident is Queen drummer Roger Taylor. Black and yellow bunting and union jack flags, many supplied by Samsung, added to the occasion.
However, traffic congestion around the narrow country roads of Cornwall has made if difficult for the torch relay to keep to its strict timetable. It was 45 minutes late - the sponsor trucks of Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lloyds TSB went down the high street nearly 30 minutes before the flame arrived accompanied by a convoy of vehicles led by six police motorbikes.
There's plenty of time to make up before the evening celebrations are held in Plymouth tonight.
Nonetheless the smiles and cheers of city residents old and young was a reminder of just how special the torch relay is seen by locals. "I touched it," exclaimed one girl. "We did too," replied one mother.
The torch nearly didn't come this way, a couple in their 70s born and bred in Truro told ATR, until the council pressured the regional authorities to include it on the route.
"We are very proud to see the torch coming through because we were going to be missed. We're thrilled to bits. It's an honor. We're very much looking forward to the Olympics," the woman said.
As the crowds waved and applauded the torch's passage through the city - guarded by 16 Metropolitan Police officers - cafes were doing a roaring trade in Olympic breakfasts; "Flaming good value", said one chalkboard advertising its full English.
A total of 139 torchbearers will be involved in getting the flame to Plymouth by 7.45pm BST.
Other highlights along the route include a stop at the Eden Project, a major eco tourist attraction, where the flame was taken up in a helium balloon in "the largest indoor rainforest in the world". That was the only alternative mode of transport for the torch on Day One of the relay.
Evening celebrations feature entertainment staged by London 2012 Olympics organisers and the three presenting partners of the torch relay.
Reported by Mark Bisson and Christian Radnedge in Cornwall
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