Inspirational West Dorset women selected as Olympic torchbearers (From Dorset Echo)
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Inspirational West Dorset women selected as Olympic torchbearers
4:00pm Tuesday 10th April 2012 in Local News By Harry Hogger
INSPIRATION: West Dorset District Council leader Robert Gould with Olympic torchbearers Rosie Barfoot, left, and Betty Port on High West Street in Dorchester
TWO inspirational women will be carrying the Olympic flame as it makes its way through West Dorset this summer.
Betty Port, from Dorchester, and Rosie Barfoot, from Stratton, can look forward to playing a part in the greatest show on earth after being confirmed as Olympic torchbearers.
The pair will each have a turn carrying the torch as it heads through Burton Bradstock on the afternoon of Thursday July 12 – day 55 of the flame’s 70-day journey around the UK.
Betty, 61, works part-time as an Anglican priest and taught at All Saints School in Weymouth for 22 years.
She co-ordinated fundraising at the school and was nominated by a former student who said she had inspired her to set up her own charity.
She said: “When I found out that I had been selected as a torchbearer I was so excited.
“The best thing about it though has been the reaction other people have had for me.
“They smile and are so excited and I think it’s brought more people into the Olympic ‘feel’.
“The joy for me will be putting on my Olympic torch relay tracksuit and going into schools and letting the children hold the torch so that everyone can feel involved in the Olympics.”
Business performance coach Rosie is the founder of the Phoenix Legacy, a voluntary organisation that encourages people over the age of 50 to be active.
She has also launched the ‘Mind Your Head’ challenge, which encourages local people to keep their minds active.
Rosie, 57, said: “I am very excited and proud to have been selected as an Olympic torchbearer.
“The true enormity of it all has really started to set in now.
“What struck me most when I received the email confirming I would carry the flame, was that I am officially going to be part of London 2012 and that will be a truly unique experience.”
After receiving their confirmation, Betty and Rosie were congratulated by West Dorset District Council leader Robert Gould.
He said: “Betty and Rosie and all of the inspirational torchbearers who will be carrying the Olympic flame through West Dorset, and indeed around the whole of the UK, should be incredibly proud to have been nominated and selected to play their part in this historic event.”
