ALMATY: As an Airbus A330-200 jetted off from Beijing yesterday morning to begin the Olympic flame's 33-day world tour, former speed skating world champion and China's first Winter Olympics medalist Ye Qiaobo found a fresh thrill in her new role as the relay entourage's only consultant.

"People jokingly call me 'our psychiatrist', and I think I shoulder a fairly large responsibility from that," the 43-year-old said shortly before takeoff.

A five-time torchbearer of both the Winter Olympics and the Asian Games, Ye has been onboard the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) since the beginning.