Published Date:
10 April 2008
By Staff Copy
Round-the-world yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur carried the Olympic torch amid stormy scenes in London this week.
Former Anthony Gell pupil Dame Ellen took the flame over the Thames, on the last leg of the relay course.
By the time she received the torch, 37 pro-Tibet protestors had been arrested, many for trying to extinguish the flame.
Dame Ellen said it had been a "difficult day" and she was disappointed the positive aspects of the Olympics had not been highlighted.
"If the Olympics were not being held in Beijing, then there would not be an opportunity to communicate these matters to this extent on a world stage," she added.
Dame Ellen has been officially awarded France's highest decoration, the Legion d'Honneur by French president Nicolas Sarkozy.
This was a formal recognition of the award that was given her after she set a new solo non-stop round the world record in 2005.
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Last Updated:
10 April 2008 1:05 PM
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Source:
Matlock Mercury
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Location:
Matlock
