Sochi, Russia, 2013-12-09 — /travelprnews.com/ — The Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay continued its journey through Novosibirsk. On the second day, 88 torchbearers, passing the Flame to one another, covered a distance of 15.3 km. Among the Olympic torchbearers were nominees of the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay Presenting Partners: the Coca-Cola Company, OSAO “Ingosstrakh” and OAO “Russian Railways”.
Day 61 of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay began in the territory of Akademgorodok, the most important scientific, technical and educational center of Russia. This separate city, built on the shores of the Ob Sea in the 1960’s, contains scientific research centers, including the Siberian division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and residential neighborhoods.
In the morning torchbearers Tatyana Lazareva and Alexandr Karelin visited the Novosibirsk Scientific Research Institute of blood circulation pathology, named for E.N. Meshalkin. Then the famous torchbearers visited a unique museum dedicated to the history of cardiac surgery.
The two-time Olympic track and field champion Viktor Markin began his journey with the Olympic flame around the Siberian Akademgorodok. Prominent athletes received the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay from him, as well as students of the Novosibirsk educational institutions.
Then the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay continued near the monument to Alexandr Pokryshkin, air marshal and three-fold hero of the Soviet Union. City residents welcomed their beloved countryman, a veteran and active table tennis athlete, 101-year-old Alexandr Kaptorenko. He became the oldest torchbearer in the history of the Olympic Movement. At the age of 101, Alexander weekly spends several hours practicing sports and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle among youth.
In the capital of Siberia, torchbearers rode with the Olympic torch in hand on the snowy slopes, symbolizing the approaching “white” Olympics. In the Gorny sports park, torchbearer Daniil Dilman, a member of Russia’s snowboard team, rode down on a snowboard. Then he passed the Torch Relay to Sergey Tarasov, a biathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who ascended back to the peak on skis.
Approaching the finish, the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay went along the Communal Bridge. The torchbearers were able to see the wide open spaces of the icy Oba; it is the longest seven-bay bridge, having no counterparts in the world. Relieving one another, the torchbearers delivered the Olympic Flame to Lenin Square in the very center of the city. Alexandr Karelin, Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling champion, put a bright point in the city phase of the Torch Relay and lit the Cauldron. The Cauldron, gifted to the city by Presenting Partner of the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay OSAO “Ingosstrakh”, will remain as a token to Novosibirsk.
The Olympic Torch Relay will visit next cities of the Novosibirsk district, Barabinsk and Kuybyshev and will cross the border of the Omsk district.
Notes to the Editor
The Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay
The Olympic Torch Relay gets under way in Sochi on 7 October 2013. According to the organizers’ calculations, 90% of the Russian population will be within an hour’s reach of the Torch Relay route at some time or other, and this means that approximately 130 million Russian citizens will be able to watch or participate directly in the Relay. In total, it will cover more than 65,000 kilometers, including by car, train, plane, Russian troika and even reindeer sleigh.
The Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay is going to be the longest in the entire history of the Olympic Winter Games. During the Olympic Torch Relay, 14,000 torchbearers will carry the Sochi 2014 Olympic torch through 2,900 settlements of 83 regions of the country. The Relay will end with the Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony in Sochi on February 7, 2014.
Presenting Partners of the Torch Relay are Coca-Cola, OSAO “Ingosstrakh” and OAO “Russian Railways”.
The Presenting Partners for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the largest producer in the world of non-alcoholic drinks products. It offers consumers more than 500 brands of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. Along with the Coca-Cola brand, which is recognized as the most valuable in the world, the company’s portfolio includes 15 brands, the value of which amounts to over one billion dollars.
Thanks to the largest distribution system in the world, consumers in more than 200 countries around the world enjoy Coca-Cola beverages. Every day, over 1.8 billion portions of the company’s beverages are sold internationally.
Coca-Cola in Russia – Coca-Cola is one of the biggest investors in the Russian economy. Coca-Cola’s level of investment in Russia currently exceeds 3 billion dollars. Beverages with Coca-Cola registered trademarks are produced at 16 modern plants located on Russian territory from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok (including plants of companies “Multon” and “Nidan”).
Coca-Cola Russia, which is an amalgamation of the company Coca-Cola and its partner-bottling company Hellenic, provides employment for over 15,000 highly qualified staff.
Over the course of over 100 years, participation of Coca-Cola company in sports events across the world has been and continues to be an integral part of the Company’s policy and an important element of the business.
Since 1928, Coca-Cola company has been an irreplaceable partner of the International Olympic Committee.
The Coca-Cola Company is preparing to be a Presenting Partner for the Olympic Torch Relay for the ninth time. The Coca-Cola Company first got involved in organizing the Olympic Torch Relay at the Olympic Games of 1992 in Barcelona.
For more detailed information about the company’s activities, please visit the following websites: www.thecocacolacompany.com and www.cocacolarussia.ru
OSAO “Ingosstrakh”
Ingosstrakh Insurance Company has operated in the domestic market since 1947. In 66 years, Ingosstrakh has transformed from a small branch to a large company, a universal insurer at federal level, and is the leader in various types of insurance. Today, branches are located across the country, and there are offices in 310 towns and cities across Russia. Today, the insurance company’s clients include over 12 million individuals and more than 400,000 commercial and state companies. Ingosstrakh’s high business reputation is confirmed by Standard & Poor’s international rating agency and Russian agency “Expert RA”.
The history of interaction between Ingosstrakh and the sports movement spans more than three decades. For Ingosstrakh, the Olympic Winter Games of 2014 in Sochi are going to be the second Olympic Games that the company has supported in our country. 33 years ago, Ingosstrakh was the supplier of insurance for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, providing insurance cover both during the preparations for the Games and during the competitions themselves. Ingosstrakh actively participated in the insurance of Olympic venues which were constructed before the 1980 Olympics. At that time, the Olympic flame was also protected by Ingosstrakh: the company insured the athletes’ torch relay. The policy was active throughout the entire Olympic Torch Relay.
More than 30 years since the 1980 Olympics, Ingosstrakh has again received this great honor. Since October 2010, it has been a Partner: the official insurer of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. Thus, for the second time in its 65-year history, the insurer is supporting one of the most important events in the world of sport: the first Olympic Games in the history of modern Russia, the mission of which is to unite the country, and demonstrate the beauty and diversity of Russia to the world.
OAO “Russian Railways”
OAO “Russian Railways Company” is one of the biggest transport companies in the world, with a network consisting of over 85,000 km of railway lines. Every year the company provides transit for a billion passengers and over 1.2 million tons of freight.
In February 2010, OAO “Russian Railways Company” became a General Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2014.
The company is implementing a range of important projects related to the construction new railways and stations in the region where the 2014 Games are going to be held, all of which are designed to ensure transit of construction material and equipment during the preparations for the Olympics, and to take competitors and spectators to the competition venues.
All the projects being carried out by OAO “Russian Railways Company” are taking place at unique construction sites, and serve as examples of complex task-solution: they are being created taking account of “barrier-free environment” requirements, so that they can be used by people with disabilities, with the very latest technology and “green building” standards applied.
The infrastructure elements on which OAO “Russian Railways Company” is working will form the main component of the legacy left by the Sochi 2014 Games. The new railway lines and stations will significantly improve passenger comfort on rail journeys, and the volume of passenger and freight transportation by rail will increase.
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