The Olympic flame “Flame of Hope” arrived at BER from Athens on Thursday Photo: Günter Wicker / FBB
By Rike Fabia Lohmann
The countdown is on, the flame has landed! After the “Flame of Hope” was lit in Athens on Wednesday, it traveled to the capital on Thursday. At 4.20 p.m. the plane with the holy fire on board landed at BER.
And with her: Special Olympics athlete Natascha Wermelskirchen (28). The goalkeeper of our women’s national soccer team received a special honor: She had been selected in advance by Special Olympics Germany (SOD) to receive the “Flame of Hope” after it had been lit and bring it to Berlin.
Together with her trainer Sarah Splinter (36), Wermelskirchen had already traveled to Greece on Monday.
Shortly after the ignition, Wermelskirchen – together with a Greek Special Olympics athlete – started the official torch relay of the Special Olympics World Games 2023.
Wermelskirchen to the BZ: “I was super excited, my Greek colleague too. We tried to calm each other down. Since we don’t speak each other’s language, we used sign language.”
And: “It was a unique experience that I will never forget.” Trainer Splinter: “I’m really proud of Natascha.”
The Special Olympics World Games will take place in Berlin from June 17th to 25th, 2023. 7,000 athletes from 190 countries are expected to attend the world’s largest inclusive sports event.