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RELAY TO BEIJING

Woman with ALS Carries Olympic Torch

Lorri Coppola of California, a former gym teacher and champion race walker, recently carried the Olympic torch on a leg of the relay through San Francisco enroute to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Because of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS- Lou Gehrig’s Disease), she has lost her ability to speak and must communicate by writing or typing on a computer with a voice synthesizer, but her legs remain strong. She was able to fulfill her lifelong dream of being an Olympic torchbearer.

Always very active in sports, Coppola taught and coached track and gymnastics for 33 years and won gold medals for Masters race walking at the Buffalo World Games and the Nike World Games in Oregon.

She is seen here getting ready for her leg of the relay, alongside another torchbearer.