2002 Olympic Torch Relay Starts In
Atlanta on December 4th: Emory Heart Center Director Chosen to Carry
Torch
The Olympic Flame last rested on U.S. soil in Atlanta
- and it returns here next Tuesday when the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay
begins. Emory Heart Center Director Douglas Morris, M.D., has been tapped
by the Olympic Affairs Team to be one of the first Torch Bearers to
participate in the event which kicks off at Centennial Olympic Park
in downtown Atlanta on December 4th at 8:00 a.m.
Dr. Morris will begin carrying the Olympic Flame at 9:45 a.m. as he
runs his segment of the relay from Boulevard at the Family Dollar store,
past North Avenue and then right on Ponce de Leon Avenue to Kennesaw
Street.
A host of runners -- as well as cars, planes, trains, ships, snowmobiles
and even a covered wagon -- are slated to help transport the torch during
its 13,500 mile journey through 46 states in 65 days. The relay will
end on February 8th at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake City, Utah.
According to Marie T. Fay, Director of the Pfizer Olympic Affairs Team,
Dr. Morris was selected for the prestigious honor of participating as
an Olympic Torch Bearer in recognition of his commitment to exercise
and fitness as an essential element of cardiovascular health.
Dr. Morris encourages his patients to pursue exercise and other recreational
activities to control cardiovascular risk factors, reduce the consequences
of heart disease and other health problems, and help cope with stress.
"I believe patients are most receptive to this message if their physician
is physically fit and has adopted an active lifestyle," says Dr. Morris,
who runs as part of his personal physical fitness program.
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