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Legendary pole jumper Elena Isinbayeva to carry the Olympic torch in Volgograd

Isinbayeva who took part in the exhibition’s opening told journalists that she was looking forward to the event

© EPA/Kay Nietfeld

VOLGOGRAD, December 27, 21:55 /ITAR-TASS/. Elena Isinbayeva, the two-times Olympic pole vault jumper, will be the most famous person to carry the Olympic torch during the Volgograd lap of the relay race on January 20, Aleksey Vorobyov, the minister of press and information of the Volgograd region, told Itar-Tass as he opened a photo exhibition “The Faces of the Relay Race”. It features 46 photos of those who will have the honor of carrying the Olympic torch on the Volgograd route. They are honorary citizens of Volgograd, including athletes, doctors, teachers, actors and entrepreneurs.

“Elena Isinbayeva will certainly be the most recognizable face of the Volgograd lap,” Vorobyov went on to say.

“Our legendary pole jumper will light the Olympic cauldron in Volgograd,” the regional minister of press and information went on to say.

Isinbayeva who took part in the exhibition’s opening told journalists that she was looking forward to the event. “I have been running and training,” Isinbayeva said.

“I have been to the Olympic Games several times but a relay race is something grandiose and wonderful. The Olympic torch relay race is a holiday that unites people. I am so happy to carry the Olympic torch in our city,” Isinbayeva emphasized.

More than 250 torch bearers will take turns in carrying the torch during the Volgograd lap.

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