December 18, 2001
Tim Bassett — an Olympic torchbearer with a heart of gold
GREENLAND, N.H. — Representing the United States by carrying the Olympic Flame is a responsibility bestowed to a select group of individuals. On Friday, Dec. 28, at 9:43 a.m. on Route 1 in York, Maine, Tim Bassett of Greenland, N.H., will have the honor of running with the Olympic Torch as a member of the Salt Lake 2002 Torch Relay Team.
Bassett, who was nominated to carry the torch by his niece, Alicia Barry, will be running in memory of his 12-year-old son, T.J., who died of a brain tumor in 1998. Barry nominated her uncle to carry the torch because of his dedication to another run, the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC).
The DFMC is a team of runners that participates in the Boston Marathon® to raise funds for cancer research through the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Mass. Bassett will be running in his fourth DFMC on April 15, also in memory of his son, who received his treatment at the Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana-Farber.
"I started to run in the DFMC for my son," says Bassett, "because the folks at the Jimmy Fund Clinic were so good to him and to us. My family has rallied around the DFMC and the cause — it gives us a way to make a difference."
As they do during the Boston Marathon, Bassett's wife, Nancy, 12-year-old daughter, Abby, and many friends and family members will be on the sidelines of Route 1 to cheer him on during his quarter-mile run with the Olympic Flame.
On Dec. 4, the Torch Relay officially began and more than 11,500 torchbearers are scheduled to help carry the Olympic Flame through 250 U.S. cities and 46 states. Then on Feb. 8, 2002, a very special Torchbearer will carry this Olympic symbol into Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium and light the Cauldron to officially start the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
