Ty Welker had the thrilling part. 

His family and friends had the hard part. 

On Jan. 3, 2002, Welker – an intervention specialist and the head baseball coach at Troy High School – carried the Olympic torch through Springfield as it made its way to Salt Lake City, Utah for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

While Welker may have had the adrenaline rush of the moment, not to mention a heated bus, to keep him warm as he carried the Olympic flame the standard 0.2 miles for his stretch, the 25-30 family and friends who showed up hours ahead of time to watch him be a part of one of the most recognized traditions in all of sports were left out in the cold.

Literally.

“It was colder than heck the day I ran the torch, I remember that,” Welker said. “Wind chills were single digits, if not zero. My family had to stand out there and wait. It wasn’t me. I was on a bus. I got handed the torch, they lit it and handed it to me, I ran 0.2 miles and got back on the bus. They were the ones out in the cold for hours.”

With the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies set for Friday in Milan, Italy, Welker can fondly remember the time he carried the Olympic torch after being nominated by a substitute teacher he frequently taught alongside at Troy High School. 

“It was just an unbelievable experience,” Welker said. “I don’t think it’s something you ever forget. I still think about it from time to time. We traveled to Utah one summer and we visited some of the venues. They still have all the logos up and everything. I’m definitely excited for this year’s Winter Olympics. I’m ready to go. We always get excited for the Olympics anyway, but to have that personal experience is pretty nice.” 

While Welker fondly remembers carrying the torch, he doesn’t remember exactly how he found out he would be receiving such an honor, but he definitely remembers the emotions he was feeling when he did find out. 

“It was a long time ago and I don’t remember exactly how I found out. It was a phone call or an email, and I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that I was going to be able to be a part of something like that. I didn’t know all the details or all of the ins and outs, and I thought it was literally run across the country. I found out it was run through the cities. The torch is carried in an enclosed container. They light (the individual torches) from it and carry the flame in case the torches get put out, or something like that. It was neat to see the inner workings of that and how tremendously it was organized. They organize it so well, and my run through Springfield was pretty cool.” 

Although he was excited about the opportunity, Welker did have one small concern.

“When I found out I was going to be running the torch, at first I was a little worried if I was in shape enough to do it,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t know it would be 0.2 miles. I was a little worried about that at first. But then when I found out it would only be 0.2 miles, you get the adrenaline going. 

“It wasn’t that long of a run, obviously, but just to know your friends and family are there – our first child was born and my wife was pregnant with our second child – so that’s kind of a cool moment. My friends were there, my parents were there. It was just really neat to celebrate with everybody else, and then we kind of had a gathering afterwards.” 

Welker said his only real regret is that his students couldn’t be there to watch him because Troy had school that day. Still, though, he made sure the students in his class saw the videotape, and he would speak to several social studies classes about his participation in the historic event. 

“I wish my kids could have been there, but it was still pretty cool to be able to come back and tell them about it,” Welker said. 

Welker has received numerous awards and accolades for both his teaching and coaching careers. Of all the certificates, plaques and trophies he piled up over the years, however, the Olympic torch is the pride of his collection. He was allowed to keep the torch, along with the track suit, hat and gloves he wore while carrying the torch. 

“I have the torch in my den,” Welker said. “I don’t show off a lot of my awards. I’ve done a lot of things and I’m pretty humble, but that’s one, when people come over, you don’t usually get to see an Olympic torch. I try to share that with people because it’s such a cool thing. It’s not bragging for me, but just being able to see a torch is pretty cool. It was a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing for me.”

Photo by Anthony Weber | Troy Daily News