Elon College, N.C. – An Olympic torch, carried on one of the last segments of the torch run to Olympic stadium in Sydney, Australia, will be shared with students at Elon College Elementary School at 8:30 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 28. The torch was carried by Elon College faculty member Peter Farmer, a former Australian Olympic athlete and coach of several competitors at this year’s games. Farmer will tell the youngsters about his Olympic experiences and allow them to pose for photos holding the torch.
Farmer is a native of Australia who competed in the hammer throw in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. All former Australian Olympians were given the opportunity to carry the torch in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremonies. After passing the flame on to the next runner, each person in the relay was allowed to keep their torch as a reminder of their role in the 2000 Games.
Farmer visited two elementary schools in Australia following the torch run and was anxious to do the same with children in Elon College. “The faces of the kids make it a really worthwhile experience. You never know how this meeting might affect them in their future lives,” says Farmer.
After carrying the Olympic torch this year, Farmer turned his attention to the Olympians of today, working with athletes from several countries who have practiced at the training facility he operates at Gibsonville, N.C.
Farmer’s dream is to build a world-class facility on the 10-acre wooded site for Olympians training in the throwing events: shot put, hammer, discus and javelin. Already, he has attracted athletes from Norway, Fiji, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and the United States. The facility is called Valhalla, named for the Norse hall of heroes.
Currently, the athletes live with Farmer and his family in the 1893 home on the property. His goal is to add living quarters to the throwing field and circles that he has already carved out of the property. He also wants to establish a Throwing Sports Hall of Fame.
Farmer formerly held the Australian and British Commonwealth records in the hammer throw, ranking fifth in the world and winning a bronze medal in the World Cup and a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. He was a duel NCAA champion and an eight-time All-American.
Since his retirement as an Olympic athlete, Farmer, 48, has been a physical education teacher, assistant elementary school principal, television sports reporter and commentator, collegiate and national level track and field coach, and college professor. He is an associate professor of leisure/sport management at Elon. He has a bachelor’s degree and a master of education degree from the University of Texas at El Paso, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix and a doctorate from the University of New Mexico.
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