Today the Sochi 2014 Relay continued its the march in Yakutsk. 82 torchbearers covered a distance of 20.2 kilometres through the streets of the capital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the city of Yakutsk. Among the Olympic torchbearers were the nominees of the Sochi 2014 Relay Presenting Partner companies the Coca-Cola Company, OSSAO "Ingosstrakh" and OAO "Russian Railways."
Fire for the Yakuts, living in harsh climatic conditions is a sacred symbol which they treat with special awe and respect. That's why the solemn welcoming ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay at the airport square began with the ritual of blessing called "Algys." This is a traditional ritual of the Yakut people when meeting a guest, who has arrived to the northern land from afar. Shaman read a symbolic prayer to the pagan gods in his native tongue, and the urban stage of the Sochi 2014 torch relay was launched in Yakutsk.
The honour of carrying the Olympic Flame through the streets of the city was awarded to athletes - professionals and amateurs, sport veterans and Paralympians, students, doctors, teachers. The winner of the Olympic Games in Beijing in boxing, holder of the order of the "North Star", torchbearer George Balakshin delivered the symbol of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games to the monument of the honoured coach, the founder of the Yakut school of freestyle wrestling Dmitry Korkin.
In the ethnographic complex "Chochur Muran", the Torch Relay was received by the torchbearer Vasiliy Gogolev, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. He was rushed away by a team of huskies and laikas to the next "Kiss of Flame". In the middle of a frozen lake the athlete handed the Olympic Flame to sports veteran Alexander Ivanov, silver medallist of the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 in wrestling. He covered his distance on a reindeer sleigh.
The famous Yakut wrestler Leonid Spiridonov rode his horse carrying the Olympic Torch, accompanied by two horsemen wearing national costumes. He delivered the fire to Komsomolskaya Square, where thousands of spectators greeted the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay.
Sakha-Yakutia, an area of the centuries-old frost, has always been associated with constant colds. Yakutsk, the coldest capital of the Olympic Torch Relay, invited the Olympic Flame into the kingdom of Permafrost. Located in an abandoned tunnel, the Ice Kingdom is one of the main attractions of the Republic of Sakha - Yakutia, the personification of its national character. The arches of the unique tunnel are decorated with patterns made of snow crystals, there are ice sculptures everywhere.
The main guest of the snow fairy tale was the torchbearer Relay Dainuvite Durov. At the gates of the Permafrost Kingdom she was welcomed by Chyskhaan - The Lord of the cold, and together they carried the Lantern with the Olympic Flame through the streets of the Ice Kingdom. All year-round inside the Permafrost Kingdom the temperature is kept at minus 5-10 degrees Celsius. When the guests left the mansions of the hospitable Chyskhaan, the temperature in Yakutsk dropped to minus 35 degrees Celsius - at the moment it is an absolute record for the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay.
Running with the Torch at the end of the Relay in Yakutia, Vladimir Balynets - silver medallist of the Olympic Games in London 2012 in Powerlifting, Maria Pinigina - Olympic champion in Seoul in 1988 in Track and Field and her husband Paul Pinigin - winner of the Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the Games in Montreal in 1976. He passed the Olympic Flame to the final torchbearer at the monument to himself and to another two of his fellow countrymen, erected in honour of the Olympic victory.
The Russian Biathlon champion Nadezhda Eliseeva ran into the "Triumph" sports complex arena holding the Torch. She was expected there by 7,400 spectators. Together with Yegor Borisov, President of the republic, the athlete lit the Cauldron, that will forever remain in the city in the memory of the Games thanks to the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay Presenting Partner, OSAO "Ingosstrakh."
Tomorrow the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay will go to Magadan, where the Olympic Flame will be welcomed by a symbolic gold bullion - the region's main natural heritage.
For further information on the Torch Relay, visit Sochi2014.com, or call +7 495 984 2014.
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