希腊射击冠军安娜·科拉卡基将成为第一位在奥运火炬传递第一站传递奥运火炬的女运动员，这是今年夏天东京2020年奥运会的前奏。
3月12日，科拉卡奇将前往希腊的奥林匹亚——古代奥运会的举办地——在那里，她将在一个传统的仪式上让一位象征性的高级女祭司点燃火炬，开始圣火到日本的漫长旅程。
“对我来说这是莫大的荣幸。我很激动，我认为这种感觉在古奥林匹亚会更加强烈。科拉卡基在一份新闻稿中说:“我期待着经历那一时刻，我相信这将在我的余生中铭刻在我的脑海和心中。”。
2016年巴西里约热内卢奥运会上，科拉卡基赢得了25米手枪项目的金牌。从那以后，23岁的她在2018年世界锦标赛上赢得了10米气手枪冠军，并在2019年欧洲运动会上赢得了25米气手枪金牌，从而为自己的成功锦上添花。
尽管年轻时取得了成功，但出生在希腊东北部戏剧之城的科拉卡奇似乎并不满足于现状。
“事实是，我已经赢得了所有你能在射击和一般运动中赢得的冠军——甚至是[10米气手枪]世界纪录，这是我的梦想，”23岁的他告诉奥林匹克频道。“现在我只希望我能保持这种水平，一次又一次地获得冠军。我希望在接下来的10到15年里保持最高水平。”
希腊奥林匹克委员会——希腊的奥林匹克管理机构——一致决定科拉卡基将成为2020年东京奥运会的第一棒火炬手
2016年8月9日，在巴西里约热内卢的奥林匹克射击中心，2016年里约奥运会第四天，在女子25米手枪项目的颁奖仪式上，希腊的金牌得主安娜·科拉卡基在领奖台上微笑。
“这是一个历史性的时刻，因为历史上第一次女性运动员将成为第一棒火炬手。国际奥委会临时主席、成员斯皮罗斯·卡普拉洛斯在新闻发布会上说:“我相信安娜·科拉卡奇已经为希腊国旗和我们的国家增光添彩，她理应得到这一荣誉，不仅是因为她在里约奥运会上获得了两枚奖牌，也是因为她在2016年后取得了成功。”。
一旦火炬传递结束，科拉卡基将把火炬传递给赢得2004年雅典奥运会马拉松比赛的日本运动员野口瑞希。总的来说，火炬在飞往日本之前将在希腊停留八天。
在夏季奥运会之前的121天里，圣火将被带到日本所有的47个县。它的最终目的地将是东京的新国家体育场，最终的火炬手将在7月24日奥运会开幕式上点燃主火炬。
ANNA KORAKAKI WILL BE FIRST EVER WOMAN TO KICK OFF OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY, IN LEAD UP TO TOKYO 2020 GAMES
Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki will become the first female athlete to carry the Olympic torch during the first leg of its relay, in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 games this summer.
On March 12, Korakaki will head to Olympia in Greece—the site that hosted the original Olympic Games in antiquity—where she will have the torch lit by a symbolic high priestess at at a traditional ceremony, beginning the flame's long journey to Japan.
"It's a great honour for me. I am thrilled, and I think the feelings will get even more intense in Ancient Olympia. I am looking forward to experiencing that moment and I'm sure it will remain etched in my mind and heart for the rest of my life," Korakaki said in a press release.
Korakaki won a gold medal for the 25 meter pistol event at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. Since then, the 23-year-old has added to her success by winning the 2018 World Championships for 10 meter air pistol and taking home the gold medal for 25 meter pistol at the 2019 European Games.
But despite her success at a young age, Korakaki—who was born in the city of Drama in northeastern Greece—is seemingly not content to rest on her laurels.
"The truth is that I have won all titles that you can win in shooting, and in sport in general—even the [10m air pistol] World Record which was my dream," the 23-year-old told Olympic Channel. "Now I just hope that I'll stay on that level and get the titles again, and again, and again. I hope to stay at the top level for another 10 to 15 years."
The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC)—Greece's Governing Olympic body—decided unanimously that Korakaki would be the first torchbearer for the Tokyo 2020 games
Gold medalist Anna Korakaki of Greece smiles on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women's 25 meter pistol event on Day 4 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Shooting Centre on August 9, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"It is a historic moment, as for the first time in history a female athlete will be the first torchbearer. I believe that Anna Korakaki has honoured the Greek flag and our country, and she deserves it, not only for the two medals at the Rio Olympics, but also for her successes after 2016," HOC President, International Olympic Committee Member Spyros Capralos, said in a press release.
Once her leg of the relay is over, Korakaki will hand the torch to Japanese athlete Mizuki Noguchi who won the marathon event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. In total, the torch will spend eight days in Greece before being flown to Japan.
The flame will then be taken to all of Japan's 47 prefectures over the course of 121 days in the lead up to the summer games. Its final destination will be Tokyo's New National Stadium where the final torchbearer will light the main cauldron on July 24, during the opening ceremony of the games.
