STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- For once, former Olympic champion skier Pernilla Wiberg finished last.
One of the all-time greats in women's alpine skiing, Wiberg jogged the final leg Thursday of the Olympic flame's journey through Stockholm, site of the 1912 Summer Games.
"It was unbelievable! I was relaxed before the relay, but then I got quite nervous," Wiberg told thousands of people from a podium in a downtown park.
Wiberg, an Olympic giant slalom and combined gold medalist who also won four world titles and one World Cup overall crown, said she was honored to be selected as the last of 128 runners in the relay.
"It made me so proud to carry the torch, which I've seen from far away before but never so close until today," Wiberg said.
The flame arrived here from Berlin, site of the first modern torch relay more than six decades ago, when that city hosted the 1936 Games.
Gunnar Larsson, a double Olympic swimming champion in 1972, pistol shooter Ragnar Skanaker and Prince Carl Philip also carried the torch.
The flame passed several key spots, including Stadion, the main venue of the 1912 Games and the world's oldest Olympic Stadium still in use. It also went past the Royal Palace, historic Gamla Stan (Old Town) and Stockholm City Hall before Wiberg carried it to the finish.
Besides hosting the 1912 Games, Stockholm's Olympic Stadium also hosted the equestrian events for the 1956 Olympics because Australia had a quarantine that prevented the horses from traveling to host city Melbourne.
The torch started its journey March 25 in the ancient birthplace at Olympia, Greece. It will return to Greece on July 9, making its way to Athens for the opening ceremony in August.
Stockholm is the 28th city on the flame's 33-city tour. The torch arrives Friday in Helsinki.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
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