THE CANADIAN PRESS

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THOMPSON, Man. - A child's rendition of O Canada in Cree and a spirited torch handoff by 20 exuberant runners highlighted day nine of the cross-Canada torch relay.

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THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

School children look on as the Olympic Flame arrives at the airport in Thompson, Man. Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. The Olympic Flame which traveled from Olympia in Greece is now on a 106 day cross country relay which will end in Vancouver on Feb. 12, 2010 to mark the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The Olympic flame touched down in Lac La Ronge, Sask., on Saturday to a greeting from the Cree Nation and the youngster's moving version of the national anthem in her native tongue.

Then the flame was on the move again, crossing provincial lines and several hundred kilometres to reach Thompson, Man.

That's where a group of 20 people took up the torch, but The Canadian Press photographer Jonathan Hayward says the large group finished the run before all the torchbearers had a chance to carry the flame.

Hayward says the excited runners formed a circle, jumping and shouting, as they passed the torch from hand to hand, apparently unwilling for the moment to end.

Sunny and relatively mild temperatures warmed runners on day nine but it's back to the sub-zero chill on Sunday with celebrations planned in Churchill, Man., and Alert, Nunavut.