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The Hindu
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Reuters

Final Beijing torchbearer's ethnicity not a factor, IOC says

Chinese torchbearer athletes Dinigeer Yilamujian (L) and Zhao Jiawen wave with the Olympic flame in the middle of a giant snowflake during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, on February 4, 2022. (Source: AFP)

A cross country skier born in Xinjiang, who was one of the two final torchbearers at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, was not picked because of where she comes from, the International Olympic Committee said on Saturday.

Dinigeer Yilamujiang, from Altay in China's western Xinjiang region, placed the lit torch onto a giant snowflake along with Zhao Jiawen, a 21-year-old biathlete, before it was lifted high above the spectators at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium.

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