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Torch survives theft attempt yet again
SYDNEY (Reuters) -- The Olympic Games torch swerved past another saboteur on Friday in its cat-and-mouse race to reach Sydney intact. In the latest hijack attempt, a teenager tried to snatch the flame from a women runner on the New South Wales north coast. The torch bearer beat back the attempt and the teenager was arrested after a short chase by police. Just 24 hours earlier, a high school student tried to douse the torch with a fire extinguisher. The 17-year-old youth, described by friends as a "real goose," stepped out of a crowd watching the torch relay into the path of the runner and pulled out a small fire extinguisher from under his coat. He succeeded only in spraying the runner and bystanders, with the flame remaining untouched. There have now been three attempts to disrupt the months-long torch relay which is being carried by more than 10,000 runners in a journey from Greece through Australia to Sydney where it will be used to light the Olympic cauldron on September 15, the opening day of the games. In the first incident last month, a teenager again unsuccessfully tried to grab the torch from the official runner. Confident of the torch's ability to survive the teenage hijinks, Sydney Games organizers said they saw no reason to review security arrangements for the torch relay.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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