Olympic chief honoured to carry Torch on its return to Yorkshire

The former Olympic coxswain, who has chaired the BOA for the last seven years, will join hundreds of fortunate nominees who will carry the flame during its second three-day visit to the White Rose county.

Lord Moynihan will run with the Torch in Leeds city centre at around 6pm tomorrow.

Nominated by his BOA peers and fellow Olympians like David Hemery, he had the choice of where he would conduct the honour, but said there was never any question it would be in his family’s ancestral home city.

“For me, travelling through Leeds with the Olympic Torch will be as special a day as the opening ceremony itself, even after all the hard work that has gone into that over the last seven years,” said Lord Moynihan, who won a silver medal as the cox of the men’s eight in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

“I was born in the West Country and live in London, but Leeds has always been seen as our home, in a literal sense.

“There have been 14 generations of Moynihan in the Yorkshire area.

“One of those, Andrew – whose sister lived in Leeds – served in the Crimean War and was awarded a Victoria Cross.

“His son Berkeley became a doctor at Leeds General Infirmary and became the surgeon general during World War One, which is a job I cannot even imagine.

“He could have moved down to London, but decided to stay in Leeds and commute.

“So it’s a special place for our family. And when I got the invite to run with the Torch there was no question that I would do it in Leeds. It will be an emotional day for all of our family.”