Kenton Cool: chosen to carry the Olympic torch
Nine-times Everest summiteer Kenton Cool has been chosen as a torch-bearer in the run up to next year’s London Olympic games.
He said his jaw hit the floor when told he was one of thousands of people offered the chance to carry the torch.
But he said the relay, which starts in May, could clash with the peak Everest expedition period. He told the BBC: “It’s just absolutely amazing.
“But I’m a bit concerned. With the torch relay starting on 19 May, that’s pretty much summit time on Everest. I really hope I’ll be back in time.”
The organising committee made conditional offers to the first 6,800 selected from nominations mainly made by the public. Another 1,200 will be informed in January.
The 70-day torch relay will see the Olympic flame carried throughout the UK and Irish Republic and will include a trip to the top of Snowdon.
Sebastian Coe, chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said: “Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate a friend, a colleague or a family member through one of the four campaigns.
“Today we are one step closer to giving thousands of people their moment to shine during the Olympic torch relay next summer.
“The sum of the individual stories of our torchbearers will show the world that the Olympic spirit is alive and well right across the UK.”
Sir Chris Bonington, Jos Naylor and runner Laura Park raise the Olympic flag on the summit of Scafell Pike
An average of 115 people a day will carry the Olympic flame on its 8,000-mile journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the opening ceremony, marking the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Everest summiteer Sir Chris Bonington and fellrunning legend Jos Naylor were among those who climbed to the top of Scafell Pike in August 2008 to mark the UK’s official takeover of the Olympic baton after the Beijing Olympics.
Kenton Cool holds the British record for the number of ascents of the world’s highest mountain Everest.
