Universiade Flame reaches Tyumen

TYUMEN – On Friday, May 17th, the Torch Relay of the 27th Summer Universiade took place in Siberia’s oldest city, Tyumen, where it arrived from Novosibirsk. Tyumen became the 7th city for the Universiade Torch Relay to pass through on Russian soil.

The 6-kilometre long leg started off in the square in front of the building of the Tyumen Region Government. The solemn ceremony of lighting the first torch was attended by Deputy Governor of the Tyumen Region Vyacheslav Vakhrin, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Airat Sibagatullin as well as Director of the Department of Sports and Youth Policy of the Tyumen Region Dmitry Gramotin.

“I thank you for giving so much attention to the Torch Relay,” stressed Airat Sibagatullin in his address to those present. “I am sure that a new generation of athletes will be raised thanks to the Universiade. I believe that the Tyumen community will foster even more champions who will be worthy representatives of our country in future competitions. The best of luck and success to you!”

“Only 30 Russian cities were lucky to take part in the Torch Relay, and Tyumen was one of them. Today we are all witnessing a momentous sporting event,” underlined Vyacheslav Vakhrin. “I think that we will remember this day for a long time as the symbol of the fact that Tyumen is the country’s university centre, and that the development of sport in our city is at a high level.”

33 Torchbearers in total took part in the Universiade Torch Relay in Tyumen – the best students of the region, volunteers, athletes and representatives of the 27th Summer Universiade’s partners. The honour to start the Torch Relay was given to Galina Kukleva, Merited Master of Sport of Russia, Olympic champion and three-time world champion. The youngest Torchbearer of the Universiade Torch Relay was 14-year-old Andrey Timofeyev, a player of the Rubin 98 ice hockey team. All along its route, the Universiade Flame was warmly greeted by hundreds of residents of Tyumen.

“I am absolutely thrilled with everything that is going here today! It’s great that, by participating in the Torch Relay, you become part of the Universiade as only few have been honoured to carry the Torch,” shared her impressions Aleksandra Zamchevskaya, the Torchbearer and healthy lifestyle enthusiast. 

“I’ve had loads of positive emotions today! I am grateful to my company for giving me the chance to be the Torchbearer of the Games Flame,” said Dmitry Moshkin, Candidate Master of Sports in Mini-football and representative of the Kazan 2013 SU’s Official Partner – Coca-Cola HBC Eurasia LLC. “I could not even imagine that one day I would be carrying the Universiade Flame along the streets of my city.” 

The Relay finished in Revolution Fighters Square where the lighting of the City Cauldron of the 27th Summer Universiade took place. Among the honorary guests of the ceremony were Head of Tyumen’s Administration Alexander Moor, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Airat Sibagatullin, Rector of Tyumen State University Valery Falkov as well as Director of the Tyumen Division of MegaFon’s Ural Branch Dmitry Melikhov.

“The arrival of the Universiade Flame in our city presents a unique opportunity to take part in this event which is of great importance for our country,” noted Alexander Moor. “Tyumen is a sports city: more than a quarter of the people who live here regularly practise sports; new sports facilities are built in the city, and a lot of attention is paid to the development of university and children’s sport. I think that Tyumen has rightfully become one of the hosts of the Torch Relay of the 27th Summer Universiade.

After the lighting of the City Cauldron, the main symbol of the Universiade was handed over to Tyumen State University (TSU) for storage. TSU Rector Valery Falkov expressed gratitude on behalf of the university’s 35,000 staff: “The Universiade Flame is the symbol of the world’s university brotherhood, aspiration to victory, fair competition and youth. It is quite symbolic that this right – the right to safeguard the Flame – was granted to Tyumen State University. In all its history, TSU has raised a great number of winners and medallists of the Universiade and Olympic Games. It has to be mentioned because university sport is the basis for grassroots sport and elite sport. Do sports as sport is life.”

The next destination of the 27th Summer Universiade Flame is the city of Yekaterinburg.

(Source: Kazan 2013 Media Dept.)