Unveiling the Winter Universiade flame bearer contest winners

KRASNOYARSK — The Universiade flame is a symbol of the university sport movement. The right to carry the Universiade torch through the streets of one’s city signifies the intersection of sport, culture, art and education into one sphere. Those who are bestowed with the opportunity come from all ages, too!

For the Winter Universiade 2019, some notable sports stars will carry the flame from the spot of  its lighting in Torino to the upcoming host city of Krasnoyarsk. Included in the domestic part of the torch relay includes Natalia Ishchenko, the five-time Olympic champion in synchronized swimming; Anton Shipulin and Sergei Tarasov, Olympic champions in biathlon; David Belyavsky, the Olympic medalist in artistic gymnastics; Marta Zainullina, the winner of the Paralympic Games in cross-country skiing, Musa Yevloyev, the winner of the World Championship; Sergey Bida, the winner of the World Fencing Championship; and Alexander Kerzhakov headline a distinguished list of Universiade Flame bearers.

Torch bearers applied for the opportunity until earlier May of this year in Russia. These lists of candidates were handed over to the subordinate entities of the Russian Federation, to the Organising Committees of the Universiade Flame legs, where the winners of the competition were selected by a special commission.  In total, the FISU Flame will travel through 30 Russian cities, with 665 flame bearers  taking part.

Krasnoyarsk 2019 Director General, Maxim Urazov, was particularly instrumental in the upcoming torch relay.

“The Universiade Flame is a large-scale project anticipating the Winter Universiade 2019,” Mr. Urazov said.  “By this event we open the finish line in preparation for the Games. Carrying the flame is a great honor, and I am sure that participation in this major event will be an unforgettable event for each flame bearer. We invite the citizens of the country to visit this festival and to support the Universiade Flame bearers at every leg of the event.”

The flame is expected to arrive in the Winter Universiade host city of Krasnoyarsk, on March 1, 2019, the eve of the event. Among the final flame bearers that will run through the streets of the city will be Pavel Yakimov, the world champion in Winter Triathlon; Dmitry Taimulin, the winner of the world championship in Snowboard; Darya Koryakovtseva, the winner of the Winter Universiade in Freestyle Skiing, Irina Shulgina, laureate of international and All-Russian competitions, singer, poetess and composer; and Nadezhda Bolsunovskaya, the Head of the Social Movement “The Right to Happiness.”

And once the Universiade Torch relay is underway, the flame will burn bright all the way until the Opening Ceremony on the 1st of March, 2019. Keep track of the countdown clock , on the official website of the 2019 Winter Universiade.

A little bit more about the Winter Universiade Torch Relay

The Universiade Flame will start its journey on September 20, at the International Day of University Sport. The Universiade Flame bearers within the federal and regional legs will carry out the Flame through the streets of 30 cities of the country. These are the cities with the federal and large universities, major economic, sports and cultural centers: Moscow, Arkhangelsk, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Simferopol, Rostov-on-Don, Stavropol, Grozny, Kazan, Ekaterinburg, Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Barnaul, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Abakan, Kyzyl, and the cities of the Krasnoyarsk Territory: Norilsk, Kodinsk, Yeniseisk, Kansk, Zelenogorsk, Minusinsk, Nazarovo, Achinsk, Zheleznogorsk, Divnogorsk, Tura and Shushenskoye villages, Krasnoyarsk.