Kairat Boranbayev becomes first Kazakh to carry Olympic Flame in Korea
The Organizing Committee the 2018 Winter Olympics approved the torchbearer candidacy of the President of the National Paralympic Committee of Kazakhstan, Kairat Boranbayev. The Kazakh citizen carried the Olympic Flame through the southern resort island of Jeju.
"It is a high privilege for me to represent Kazakhstan at such a significant sporting event. The Olympic Games are a major sports project that grabs the world's vast attention. It is pleasant that the Paralympic sports are considered as equally important as the Olympic sports. As to the development of Paralympic sports in Kazakhstan, it is gaining an active pace and now tends to rise in our country. A striking example of this is that I, as the current President of the National Paralympic Committee of Kazakhstan, was invited to the Olympic Torch Relay. I wish splendid victories and worthy adversaries to all the competitors of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang," Kairat Boranbayev said.
It should be noted that the Olympic Flame was officially entrusted to the PyeongChang 2018 delegation in Athens, Greece. The handover began on October 24, and today the Flame arrived at the Incheon International Airport, South Korea.
It will be the second Olympic torch relay for the Republic of Korea. The country hosted the Summer Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988.