Torch Relay Update -- Ice Climbers Carry Flame

Ice climbers, including 2013 Ice Climbing World Cup winnerMaria Tolokonina, carried the Olympic torch through the city of Kirov on Sunday. Russian bandy playerSergey Obukhov was also among over140 torchbearers who ran with the flame in Kirov.

Tuesday marks the one-month countdown to the 2014 Winter Olympics, and the flame's two-day journey through the city ofNizhny Novgorod.

Sochi 2014 says close to 360 torchbearers will carry the flame throughNizhny Novgorod. The flame is set to take a trip aboard a ship which will cast out from theNizhny Novgorod Kremlin early Tuesday morning.

The late Russian hockey coachArkady Chernyshev, legendary ice hockey goalkeeperViktor Konovalenko, and Olympic figure skaterMaya Usova were all born inNizhny Novgorod.

The torch relay heads approximately 179 miles fromNizhny Novgorod to the city of Saransk on Thursday. The line-up of 82 torchbearers in Saransk will include Olympic gold medalistElena Lashmanova.

The flame is making its way back into European Russia, and ultimately Sochi, for the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 7.

Home page photo from Sochi 2014

Written byNicole Bennett

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