Sheehan to carry torch in 2002 Olympic Torch Relay

Contact Mark Walker
SLOC Media Relations
801-212-3666

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 4, 2001) -- Patty Sheehan, 2002 U.S. Solheim Cup Team captain and Ladies Professional Golf Assocaition (LPGA) Tour Hall of Fame member, has been selected as one of 7,200 torchbearers to carry the Olympic Flame on its 65-day, 13,500-mile journey from Atlanta to Salt Lake City as a lead-up to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Sheehan was selected from more than 210,000 nominees.

Sheehan, who lives in Reno, Nev., will carry the flame for the Nevada region on either Jan. 20 or 21, 2002 as part of the relay. Sheehan¹s family has an Olympic history. Her father, Robert Sheehan, was an U.S. Olympic skiing coach in 1956. She is the second LPGA Tour star to carry the torch. Karrie Webb participated in the Olympic Torch Relay for the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.

The Olympic Flame will be lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece, before traveling to Atlanta ­ where the flame last rested on American soil ­ and starting its cross-country journey through 46 states on Dec. 4, 2001. An average of 180 torchbearers per day will each carry the flame approximately two-tenths of a mile.

In addition to the 7,200 torchbearers selected, 4,300 torchbearers were selected through programs involving the Olympic family, which includes sponsors, providers, Olympians and other athletes from several U.S. Olympic national governing bodies.

Torchbearers were nominated by family members, friends or co-workers by writing a 50-100-word essay describing how the nominee embodied the Olympic spirit and inspired an individual or a community. The essays were gathered through SLOC, Coca-Cola and Chevrolet nomination programs during March and April 2001.

keywords: Patty Sheehan, LPGA, Hall of Fame, Olympic torch