ONE is a young sports star in the making and the other is a former Olympian.
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Leeton’s Kiara Pham and Norm Harrison will have the honour of being part of the Queen’s Baton Relay in Narrandera on January 28.
Mr Harrison is an old hand of the relay, having been a torch bearer for the Sydney Olympic Games, as well as a further two times for the Commonwealth Games.
Not only that, but he has also competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and two Commonwealth Games in 1974 ad 1978 in the pistol events.
“It’s a huge honour,” Mr Harrison said.
“I’ll still find it hard to sleep the night before.
“It’s very exciting to be selected to take part.”
Baton runners had to be nominated to take part in the Queen’s Baton Relay, which started in London last year and has travelled the globe to Commonwealth countries in the lead up to the Games on the Gold Coast in April.
For Kiara having never experienced being a baton runner before, she too was eager for the big day to roll around.
“It’s pretty cool,” she said.
“I can’t wait.”
Both will have a big contingent of family members cheering them on as they take their turn with the baton in the streets of Narrandera.
Fourteen baton bearers have been chosen for the Narrandera leg of the relay.
Leeton shire residents have been invited to head to either Narrandera or Griffith on January 28 to watch the relay unfold in the MIA.
However, the relay won’t be passing through Leeton itself.
The current Queen’s Baton Relay is the longest in history, travelling a record 388 days and 230,000km around the world.
In Australia, the Queen’s Baton is traversing 40,000km, travelling through every state and territory for 100 days.
Mr Harrison had some words of advice for Kiara when taking part.
“You just have to have fun with it,” he said.
“There’s a lot of people there and you’ll probably be nervous to do it, but once you start running you won’t be anymore.
“It’s a great feeling.”
Kiara said she was looking forward to watching the Commonwealth Games, particularly the basketball matches.
She herself enjoys playing many sports, including basketball, netball, swimming and many more.
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When asked whether she’ll carry the torch while running or walking, Kiara said she would like to run her leg.
Norm was undecided, but said he was again looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere on the day.
The relay in Narrandera will start at 12.30pm from the Narrandera Sportsground at 12.30pm and run until 2pm before heading to Griffith.