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2004 Olympic Day Run in HKSAR

2004-06-21 18:59

To support Hong Kong Delegation to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, round 3,000 participants, comprising members of general public, representatives of 18 Districts and Corporations join together in this year’s Father Day to take part in the Olympic Day Run 2004. The Run was organized by the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) and co-organized by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association. The SF&OC was delighted to have McDonald’s Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited as the title sponsor of this annual prestigious event and the continual support of Leisure & Cultural Services Department; Samsung Electronics H. K. Co. Ltd. and Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong.

During the Opening Ceremony, representatives from 18 Districts formed the Olympic rings at the centre of the grass pitch of Wanchai Sports Ground, which symbolized the Olympic spirit in Hong Kong. “The formation of Olympic rings by members of 18 Districts, strongly convey a message of our community’s whole-hearted support to the Hong Kong Delegation to the Athens Olympic Games; it also symbolizes the Olympic spirit in Hong Kong.” the Hon. Timothy T. T. Fok, President of SF&OC said. In the same event, President Fok also declared the closing of the three-months long XLVII Festival of Sport started in March 2004.

To further promote the Olympic Games, the Hon. Timothy T. T. Fok and Dr. Patrick Ho, JP, Secretary of Home Affairs, Home Affairs Bureau, officiated a Torch Lighting Up Ceremony before the start of the run. Eight Hong Kong Olympic athletes, including table tennis players: LIN Ling; TIE Yana and SONG Ah Sim; Swimmers: CHAN Wing Suet; Hannah WILSON; SZE Hang Yu; YIP Tsz Wa and CHAN Yu Ning, then lighted up the torches and joined the Starting Ceremony with distinguish Officiating Guests: President Fok; Dr. Patrick Ho, Mr. Joseph Lau, Managing Director of McDonald’s Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited, the Hon. Mrs. Rita Fan, GBS, JP, President of Legislative Council, XLVII Festival of Sport Ambassador – Boy’z, and other celebrities from sports fraternity.

Right after the Opening Ceremony, participants set off from Wanchai Sports Ground immediately, they ran along Tonnochy Road and Fenwick Pier Street and passed through the turning point at Citic Tower. On their way back, runners passed through the Golden Bauhinia Square and returned back to Wanchai Sports Ground. To promote the importance of exercise towards health, McDonald’s Restaurants (Hong Kong) Limited provided complimentary pedometers to all participants of the event. These step counting devices were designed to motivate people to engage in regular exercise by taking 10,000 steps a day. By the end of the run, it was found that participants had covered a total distance of around 9,000km which approximately equals to the distance from Hong Kong to Athens. This signified all the participants’ full support to our Hong Kong to the forthcoming Olympic Games.

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