Young athlete Lachlan Hicks selected to light Revelstoke’s Olympic Cauldron

Grade Eight student Lachlan Hicks (center) is congratulated by his father, Todd (left), just moments after he was named as the official Torch Carrier by RBC Manager and Olympic Torch Committee member Lynn Welcok. The announcement was made at Tuesday's Council meeting. David F. Rooney photo
Grade Eight student Lachlan Hicks (center) is congratulated by his father, Todd (left), just moments after he was named as the official Torch Carrier by Olympic Torch Committee member Lynn Welock (right). The announcement was made at Tuesday's Council meeting. David F. Rooney photo

By David F. Rooney

Young Lachlan Hicks, an exceptional skier, a fine and articulate student and a genuinely very nice young man has been accorded the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch the last 300 metres of its journey through Revelstoke to light an Olympic Cauldron in Grizzly Plaza on Jan. 26

“Lachlan is an exceptional role model for the youth of our community,” said Olympic Torch Committee member Lynn Welock as she publicly announced his name at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

Welock, who is also manager of the Royal Bank which is one of two main sponsors of the official Olympic Torch Relay, said  the Grade Eight student is an exceptional alpine skier. Last season, Lachlan won the overall championships at both K1 Western Canadian Championships in Revelstoke and the BC Alpine Provincial Championships. He completed his season by qualifying for Team Canada for the Whistler Cup, winning a silver medal in the slalom event and a fourth-place finish in the kombi event at that competition.

Mayor David Raven said Lachlan is an excellent representative of local youth and he could think of no one finer to carry the torch the last 300 metres along Mackenzie Avenue to an Olympic Cauldron that he will ignite in Grizzly Plaza.

Committee Chairman Alan Mason told Council that the ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 26. The show gets under way at 6 p.m. with the torch bearer arriving on stage at 7:20. The entire presentation will be from 6 pm until 8 pm.

That will be a big moment for Lachlan Hicks. Although he has known for two months that he had been nominated, he was still excited, proud — and awed — at the honour he has been given. He’s a good athlete who has worked hard at his sport. Even so, being asked to carry the Olympic Torch is something else. “I never really thought anything like this would happen,” he said.

The young man will be the last of 30 individuals to carry the flame during the Revelstoke segment of the Olympic Torch Relay. All of the others are being selected by the Torch Relay’s corporate sponsors, the Royal bank of Canada and Coca Cola.

Here are two other photos of Lachlan as a skier:

Lachlan Hicks running GS at K1 Western Championships held in Revelstoke Feb 09. Photo courtesy of Michael Welch
Lachlan Hicks running the GS at the K1 Western Championships held in Revelstoke Feb. 09. Photo courtesy of Michael Welch
Lachlan Hicks holding the Whistler Cup. Lachlan was a member of Team Canada who regained the title this past spring from 2007. The Whistler Cup hosted young athletes from Japan, Finland and the United States, to name only a few. Photo courtesy of Todd Hicks
Lachlan Hicks holding the Whistler Cup. As a member of Team Canada, he helped it regain the title this past spring after Canada lost it in 2007. The Whistler Cup hosts young athletes from Japan, Finland and the United States, Canada and other countries. Photo courtesy of Todd Hicks

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