Who is Low Wei Jie?

Low Wei Jie, 12, from Compassvale Primary, has become a national celebrity of sort recently for his relentless pursue of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) torch-bearers on Tuesday (10 Aug 2010).

Wei Jie has become known to the public as a “YOG Hero” and much praises has been showered on him for his free spirit.

I admire his grit to be able to run for 15km. I am quite sure not many adults will be able to accomplish this, not to mention 12-year-old kids.

Amidst the sea of negative YOG sentiments flooding online chatter by Singaporeans, Wei Jie stands out like a shining beacon.

Via Straits Times.com, this was what Wei Jie did:

THE 12-year-old schoolboy ran for almost 15km in his flip flops as he followed the Youth Olympic torch relay during Tuesday’s morning session, snapping pictures of the torch bearers along the way.

Throughout the 2-1/2 hours of his trek – which included heavy rain and bloodied scratches on his right ankle – he kept pace with the flame and its entourage as it passed through the north-east districts of Sengkang, Punggol and Hougang before finally stopping at Hougang Stadium.

HOW READERS RESPONDED

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee have made him one of the torch bearers during tomorrow’s relay through the central district.

He will get four tickets to the Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony on Saturday for his family, courtesy of MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Michael Palmer.

It is likely that he will get a replacement digital camera from either Panasonic or Canon after his old one was damaged by the rain.

If you were to ask me, Wei Jie has unwittingly accomplished what no amount of rallying from our Ministers or millions spent in advertising dollars and publicity can accomplish – drum up Singaporeans’ support and interest in the impeding YOG. 🙂

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