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by PETE BOWLES
The flame that will burn at the Olympics in Athens this summer will be carried through New York City on June 19 by a diverse group of notables, including a hip-hop impresario, firefighters and sports figures.
"We are extremely proud of this diverse group that will have the honor of carrying the Olympic flame as part of this historic event," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday in Astoria, where the city's portion of the worldwide torch relay will begin.
More than 100 torchbearers have been chosen to carry individual torches along a 34-mile route through all five boroughs.
The Olympic flame, which was lit in ancient Olympia, Greece, on March 25, will be passed from torch to torch by more than 3,600 torchbearers in 34 cities and 27 nations as part of the countdown to the 2004 Summer Games.
The flame will begin its global journey today in Sydney, Australia. For the first time, the torch relay will travel across all five land masses represented by the Olympic rings.
Among the torchbearers in New York will be Olympic gold medal winners Bob Beamon and Nadia Comaneci; CNN anchor Paula Zahn; rap entrepreneur Sean "P. Diddy" Combs; Queens firefighter James Efthimiades, who rescued World Trade Center victims; and 14-year-old Peter Raimondi of Staten Island, who lost his father in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
The June 19 relay will begin at midmorning in Athens Square Park in Astoria, the heart of the city's Greek community. The exact route is to be announced later.
On hand to announce the names of the torchbearers was Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis, who noted that New York is the home of 186 ethnic communities, representing nearly all the nations that will compete in the Summer Games Aug. 13-29.
"New York not only embodies the Olympic spirit of international harmony...but also is home to the largest community of Greek-Americans," she said.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
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