Press Release

Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D. has been selected to carry the Olympic Torch through Columbus, Ohio on January 2, 2002. She will begin her historic journey at 4:55 p.m. at the corner of 17th and High St. and travel three blocks south.

She was among more than 210,000 people nominated. Coca-Cola and Chevrolet are the sponsors of the 11,500 torchbearers selected to carry the Olympic Flame on its 65-day, 13,500-mile journey from Atlanta, Georgia to Salt Lake City. The torch will travel through 46 states.

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games is planning this event. Rosemarie is among 92 individual torchbearers and 5 pairs of torchbearers who will take part in carrying the torch as it travels through Columbus.

Rossetti, a professional inspirational speaker and writer, is a Columbus native. She was paralyzed from the waist down on June 13, 1998 as a result of being crushed by a falling tree while riding her bicycle.

As a result of the lessons she has learned in coping with change and dealing with adversity, she shares tips on bouncing back from a crisis. Her speaking programs and writing are focused on demonstrating how to live life with conviction.

Rosemarie was nominated by her client, Ken Smith, a Columbus executive, by writing a 50-100-word essay describing how Rosemarie embodied the Olympic spirit and inspired an individual or a community.

There will be a bracket mounted on her wheelchair in order to hold the Olympic torch. Her route is two-tenths of a mile. She will be wearing the white Olympic Torchbearer uniform, consisting of a windbreaker jacket, pants, hat and gloves.

The 2002 Olympic torch is 33 inches long and is made of glass, silver and copper. It embodies several themes: "Land of Contrast -- Fire and Ice," "Light the Fire Within" and "Taming of the West -- the Past and Present." It is like a fiery icicle in motion, its curvature representing the dynamics of speed and fluidity.

For more information about the Olympic torchbearer relay or the Olympics, go to: www.saltlake2002.com.

For media relations contact: Mark Walker 801-212-3666. Mark.Walker@saltlake2002.com