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| Olympic torch to make Welsh tour for first time | Olympic torch to make Welsh tour for first time |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The Olympic torch will be carried through Wales for the first time next year, it has been announced. | The Olympic torch will be carried through Wales for the first time next year, it has been announced. |
| The torch relay will stop overnight at Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth and Bangor as part of its route around the UK in 2012. | The torch relay will stop overnight at Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth and Bangor as part of its route around the UK in 2012. |
| After starting in Land's End, its eighth stop and its Welsh debut will be in Cardiff on Friday 25 May, 2012. | After starting in Land's End, its eighth stop and its Welsh debut will be in Cardiff on Friday 25 May, 2012. |
| Olympic runners have not carried the torch in Wales before as it was not on the route of the 1948 London games. | Olympic runners have not carried the torch in Wales before as it was not on the route of the 1948 London games. |
| Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson called the announcement "really exciting". | |
| Dame Tanni is Britain's most successful Paralympian, with 11 Olympic golds for wheelchair racing, as well as seven golds in World Championships. | |
| She carried the Olympic torch before the paralympics in Beijing. | |
| "It is a moment to shine for those given the honour of carrying the torch," she said. | |
| The exact route of the Welsh leg of the 2012 relay has yet to be confirmed, along with the runners who will carry it. | The exact route of the Welsh leg of the 2012 relay has yet to be confirmed, along with the runners who will carry it. |
| Around 8,000 people are needed to carry the torch, and nominations to do that open at 1100 BST on Wednesday. | |
| Dame Tanni said the games were not just for London, and the torch route would take it "within an hour's drive of nearly the whole of the UK". | |
| "The Olympics is the best sporting spectacle on our home soil in our lifetime," she said. | |
| "This country is really good at organising things and the torch is a way that people can get involved," she added. | |
| London 2012 chairman Lord Coe has outlined a UK route of more than 70 stops, including the four in Wales. | London 2012 chairman Lord Coe has outlined a UK route of more than 70 stops, including the four in Wales. |
| Each day the torch is in Wales will end in an evening celebration at its host town or city. | Each day the torch is in Wales will end in an evening celebration at its host town or city. |
| From Cardiff, the 2012 Olympic torch relay will head west to spend the night of Saturday 26 May next year in Swansea. | From Cardiff, the 2012 Olympic torch relay will head west to spend the night of Saturday 26 May next year in Swansea. |
| The following day, runners will carry the torch north to Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. | The following day, runners will carry the torch north to Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. |
| Keith Evans, leader of Ceredigion Council, said he was delighted the torch will stop in the heart of mid Wales. | |
| There was a more cautious welcome from Megan Turner, 15, a member of Aberystwyth Running Club, which trains at a track an hour-and-a-quarter away at Carmarthen. | |
| She said she was quite supportive of the torch visit because of the "glory" it brings to sports. | |
| But she added: "The Olympics has taken away from sports at grass roots level... money has been spent on the games instead of local clubs." | |
| The final full day of the torch's Wales tour will see it taken to Bangor, Gwynedd, on Monday 28 May. | The final full day of the torch's Wales tour will see it taken to Bangor, Gwynedd, on Monday 28 May. |
| The next day, torch bearers will run across north Wales as the Olympic flame is carried out of Wales to Chester. | The next day, torch bearers will run across north Wales as the Olympic flame is carried out of Wales to Chester. |
| However, Wales does have some previous connections with the Olympic flame. | However, Wales does have some previous connections with the Olympic flame. |
| They include Cardiff-born Colin Jackson, who won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. | They include Cardiff-born Colin Jackson, who won a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. |
| He was one of the bearers when the torch route for 2004 Athens games included London. | He was one of the bearers when the torch route for 2004 Athens games included London. |