Village Resident Olympic Torch Bearer
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
Utah teen chosen to carry Olympic torch for Vancouver games
January 15, 2010
DELTA — A teenager from Delta is on her way to Canada this weekend. She was picked out of thousands of other teenagers to be a torch bearer, holding the Olympic flame.
Nineteen-year-old Kelcie Thomas still can’t believe what she gets to do after a winning a contest to carry the Olympic torch.
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“The Olympic flame will travel by land, air and water during its 106-day journey as it visits more than 1,000 communities throughout Canada.”
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“My 4-H teachers nominated me and I didn’t even know,” Thomas said.
Here’s why: After writing a school paper on childhood obesity, Thomas founded “Creating a Healthier You.”
“It’s a project I started to educate youth on childhood obesity and ways to be fit and stay healthy,” she explained.
For the past two years, Thomas raised money and bought exercise equipment that she sent to all 40 Utah school districts, along with these pamphlets encouraging healthy habits. She even visited some P.E. classes.
“I taught them to dance, because I’m a dancer and it’s fun exercise. It’s kept me moving for a few years,” Thomas said.
Her 4-H teachers sent all this information into the contest, and she was one a very few chosen.
“There’s only 10 youth, teens, picked for this contest in America,” Thomas said.
She will run 300 meters with the torch through High River, in Alberta, and her whole family is going to watch.
Though Thomas isn’t actively working on Creating a Healthier You now, this freshman at Utah Valley University isn’t done.
“I’m actually going to school for exercise science, so I’m turning it into my career, pretty much,” she said.
Thomas Kelsie has always loved the Olympics. She was in fifth grade when the Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Games and won a contest to watch some of the events. But she says being in the Vancouver Olympics fulfills a childhood dream.
“When I was little, I wanted to be part of the Olympics, and now I am.” Thomas said.
She is scheduled to run Jan. 18 at approximately 1:45 p.m. She’ll get to keep the torch she carries when she’s done.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
