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Slovenian Torch arrives In Celje

Since the athletes from Celje had been bringing joy to all the Slovenian fans while accomplishing top results in the history of Olympics, it can be said that Celje is a city with rich Olympic tradition. Deputy mayor of Celje, Darja Turk welcomed the arrival of the torch and wished a success to Olympic team in PyeongChang.

Former captain of Slovenian hockey team Tomaž Razingar, former skier Amalie Belaj-Arbeiter and former ski jumpers Matjaž Zupan and Matjaž Debelak participated in the event.

Belaj-Arbeiter said that she won the 32nd place at the Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 as a 20-year-old. "I came to the games with very poor equipment. In the course of the race, I ran into one branch, while the ski was breaking up. I dragged 7 kilometars with only one ski," Belaj-Arbeiter recalled.

Matjaž Debelak, among other things, said that he will follow the Olympic Games at home on the small screen, while he will hold fingers crossed for our Olympians and support them. "As a former Olympian, I have a good memory of my own achievement. In 1988, I came to the Games in Calgary and won a bronze medal here. This was the first Yugoslav jump in ski jumps", explained Debelak.

His skiing colleague, Matjaž Zupan, will accompany this Olympic Games live in PyeongCang. He also performed at the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, along with Matjaž Debelak, Miran Tepeš and Primož Ulaga, where he won a silver team medal. He also said that he likes to see other disciplines in which Slovenians appear, especially regarding ski jumping and hockey.

Children and youth could take part in shorter sports challenges in the afternoon, such as short ski games in the field, hockey goal game and they were also tested on the balance board and boxing bag with the counter. 

At the Main Square in Celje, the organizers also prepared an exhibition of selected works from the competition of the Olympic Committee in Slovenia, in which children and young people from the Celje kindergartens, elementary and high schools created posters with the central motive of the Olympic torch. The Olympic poster is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Olympic Games. They were designed for all the modern Olympic Games, while the Olympic torch is a symbol of Olympism, which promotes people's connection, friendship, peace and love for sports.

News and photo source: Olympic.si