Peigan runner chosen to carry torch

Talk about luck!

Raymond Cross Child Jr., a Peigan band member, applied only once and yet was selected from 6,000 names to carry the Olympic 88 torch in Brocket next February.

The once-in-alife opportunity caught Cross Child by surprise when he was contacted about a month ago by OCO 88 in Calgary.

"A lot of my friends told me I was selected but I didn't believe them because I thought they were just joking around," said Cross Child in an interview.

He talked matter-of-factly when he applied at the insistence of a friend. "My friend told me we should put our names down so we did," said the 26-year old Peigan. "I did it just for the hell of it."

Cross Child, who is single, runs almost every day. He is also a member of a Peigan fastball team called NEC Enterprises.

He was recently laid off as a maintenance man with the Peigan recreation department and hopes to be back at work soon.

But he does not plan any special training sessions to prepare him for the Olympics except for his daily jogging and baseball practices.

"It's nothing, it's only one kilometre," he said.

"My friends told me I was pretty lucky to be selected," said Cross Child who downplayed his luck.

He lives on the Peigan reserve and has one brother and two sisters.