The 39-year-old, from Bourn in Cambridgeshire, will be joined by Rebecca Gilbertson from LIVING SPORT in bringing the Torch to the city ahead of a four-day tour of the county (24-27 August).
The pair will carry a Torch lit from the English Flame, which will be sparked by scouts at the summit of Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak, on Wednesday 22 August. The scouts will use the traditional technique of rubbing flint together to create sparks and kindle the Flame.
After lighting a ceremonial cauldron in Trafalgar Square on Friday, 24 August, the Flame will then tour different parts of England before heading to Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, the spiritual home of the Paralympic movement. There it will be united with the other three national Flames during a special ceremony on Tuesday, 28 August to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame and this will then make its way to the Olympic Stadium in London in time for the opening ceremony on Wednesday, 29 August.
Gordon (on the right in the picture, with tandem partner Barney Storey), represented Great Britain in the track cycling at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens and broke the indoor and outdoor world records for the 1km Time Trial. He said: “It is an enormous honour to be invited to carry the Flame from Trafalgar Square to Cambridge.
“I retired from competition four years ago so when the organisers phoned me up and started discussing it, I assumed they were looking for me to suggest some names rather than ask me to do this!
“Because the Paralympic Games has its roots in the UK rather than Greece, it is fitting that Flames are being created in different parts of the country and then being brought together at Stoke Mandeville, the Games’ spiritual home.”
Lord Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: “We have created a unique identity for the Paralympic Torch Relay which will be celebration of courage, determination, inspiration and equality that every Paralympian represents. By creating the English Flame through human endeavour at the summit of Scafell Pike we will ensure that the spirit of England is represented in the Paralympic Flame.
“The Flame Celebrations will help us to spread the Flame across the country and I hope the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will get involved and help us light the way to the Paralympic Games.”
Paralympic torch events
Friday, 24 August
Cambridge Paralympic Flame Celebration 12.00pm – 4.30pm Netherhall Sports Centre, Cambridge
Cambridgeshire Competes Paralympic Flame Celebration, 6.00pm – 7.00pm, Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Cambridge
Saturday, 25 August
Papworth Trust Paralympic Flame Celebration – CLOSED EVENT
South Cambridgeshire Paralympic Flame Celebration, 11.00am – 3.00pm Milton Country Park
East Cambridgeshire Paralympic Flame Celebration, 2.30pm – 8.00pm Jubilee Gardens, Ely and Ely Museum
Sunday, 26 August
Wisbech Museum Paralympic Flame Celebration, 10.00am – 11.45am, Wisbech Museum
Fenland District Council Paralympic Flame Celebration 12.00pm – 5.00pm Hudson Leisure Centre, Wisbech
Peterborough Museum Paralympic Flame Celebration, 4.00pm – 6.00pm, Peterborough Museum
Monday, 27 August
Peterborough Diamond Games & Paralympic Flame Celebration, 9.00am – 4.00pm Embankment Sports & Athletics Arena, Peterborough
Grafham Water Centre & Grafham Sailability Paralympic Flame Celebration – CLOSED EVENT
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For more press information please contact:
Jon Green on t: 0845 196 4717, e: jon.green@anglia.ac.uk
Andrea Hilliard on t: 0845 196 4727, e: andrea.hilliard@anglia.ac.uk
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Dan is chosen to light up Cambridgeshire
17 August 2012
Dan Gordon, Principal Lecturer in Sports Science at Anglia Ruskin University and a former Great Britain Paralympian, has been selected to carry the Paralympic Torch from Trafalgar Square in London to Cambridge on Friday, 24 August.