Kong Linghui (R), former Olympic table tennis champion, became the first torch bearer to run off the Wanzhou Middle School in Wanzhou, Chongqing, southwestern China Sunday morning after one minute of silence observed for the victims of the deadly May 12 earthquake that hit Sichuan Province.

Torchbearer Zhong Guoshun runs with the torch during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Chongqing Municipality in southwest China on June 15, 2008.  (Photo: BOCOG)