Universiade torch relay ends in Shenzhen
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Xinhua, August 11, 2011
The flame of the World University Games concluded on Thursday with the last stop in front of euphoric crowds lining the streets of Shenzhen.
A total of 160 runners including 42 student-athletes from around the world took part in the 10-kilometer event in the Longgang district, where the Universiade Athletes' Village is situated.
"I watched on TV other people passing the flame, and it's pretty cool. But I never thought I could carry the torch someday," said German beach volleyball player Julia Grossner, one of the 42 athlete torchbearers. "For me, it's really a surprise."
The torch's appearance in Shenzhen also marked the end of a three-month tour that kicked off at Tsinghua University in Beijing on May 4 and involved 10 million of netizens across the country.
Cai Mingming, a sophomore at Shenzhen University, was one of the eight luck persons chosen from the netizens at random to carry the torch on Thursday.
"I'm very lucky, and I didn't expect that at all," said Cai, who ran the last leg among the 160 participants.
The Shenzhen Universiade will officially raise its curtain on Friday at the opening ceremony in the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center. It remains unknown who will light the cauldron.
