UPDATE: Now over 60% complete.
The Guardian have published our list of the 500 torchbearers lacking a nomination story, with an appeal to users to help identify the 400 or so yet to be identified. Of the other hundred or so that we’ve already looked at, around a third share names with senior figures at sponsor organisations and commercial partners.
But we figured many eyes on the problem would help.
Among those already ticked off the list thanks to contributions via email and Twitter are Vegard Killingland (nominated through the Coca Cola campaign), David Heeley (a well known blind marathon runner whose nomination was originally turned down but later awarded following a public campaign), and fundraiser Derek Chisnall. There’s also a Mexican rock star – and more leads to company directors. UPDATE: One German daily newspaper used the list to find executives nominated by Samsung.
Many commenters on the article have pointed out the more obvious sportspeople and celebrities, such as Gordon Banks, Gethin Jones and Ruby Walsh. These were identified in the article itself or the linked HMI spreadsheet (not The Guardian’s), but it’s clear we should have been more explicit about the fact that those had already been identified, and that the focus was on the names that weren’t immediately recognisable.
You can access the full data here – post a comment, tweet @HMIolympics or email paul@helpmeinvestigate.com to add details.
