Eighteen torchbearers have been picked from across Southampton to represent the city in the Olympic Torch Relay which takes place on Saturday 14 July, and leaves the following day.
Two of the torchbearers were nominated by the council, as two inspirational individuals worthy of the honour.
They are Hilary Corrick from Southampton, and Heather Lambert from Totton. Hilary has worked tirelessly as a social worker for many years and since retiring still works in social care as a consultant. A keen runner, she is an inspiration and a wonderful role model. Heather is a local foster carer and has dedicated her life to looking after vulnerable children.
All the other torchbearers were nominated by local communities in Southampton. They include Jim Dowdall, 86 from Thornhill. Jim, originally from Ireland chose to settle in Thornhill with his wife in 1955 after serving with the Royal Navy on the destroyer HMS Undaunted. Jim suffered a mini stroke at the age of 71 and part of his recovery was to have a goal. So he went on to run the London Marathon at 73. He has since gone on to complete eight marathons in total, raising nearly £16,000 for a local cancer charity and has been awarded an MBE for his efforts.
Here is a full list of the torch bearers chosen for Southampton:
Jim Dowdall, 86, Southampton
Naomi Pike, 25, Southampton
Bruce Elkins, 53, Totton
Chris Goodwin, 41, Southampton
Christopher Russell, 18, Romsey
Freda Bussey, 61, Worthing
Gill Rose, 43, Southampton
Hilary Corrick, 68, Southampton
Ian Chalk, 47, Romsey
Jim Whitmarsh, 52, Southampton
Kyle Jones,11, Southampton
Theodore Oben, 42, Nairobi
Chris Ogborne, 12, New Milton
Gus Mckechnie, 36, Southampton
Heather Lambert, 48, Totton
Kwesi James, 12, Portsmouth
Roger Sherliker, 53, Southampton
Mike Godwin, 51, Southampton
Copyright © Southampton City Council 2009
