The flame for the Dakar Youth Olympics was lit in Athens on Thursday for the first Olympic competition ever staged in Africa.
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry, the organisation’s first African and first female leader, said the moment carried profound personal meaning.
“As an African, this moment means so much to me,” Coventry, an Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe, said, her voice breaking with emotion.
“For so many years we have spoken about the day when an Olympic event would finally come to our continent,” she said. “And now we have that great honour.”
Sun's rays light the flame
