Figure skater Danielle Harrison swapped the cool ice for one of the hottest events of the year when she was one of the torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Relay this summer.

Twelve-year-old Danielle, from Basingstoke, was one of 8,000 young people selected to carry the Olympic Flame in the Torch Relay, sponsored by Coca Cola.

Danielle was selected to carry the torch after entering a competition on the back of a Coca Cola cup, and carried the flame when it passed through Andover, Hampshire, on Wednesday, July 11.

Danielle said: “It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. It was such an honour to be picked in the first place. The crowd was brilliant and it was a really good feeling running along with the flame with everyone cheering and clapping.”

Danielle, who has been skating since she was six, has already appeared in national newspapers and online in a Marks and Spencer’s advert, after she impressed judges on the ice and was chosen from 600 hopefuls to star in the campaign.

In November 2011, she won a bronze medal in the Ladies Novice competition at the British Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, finishing third out of 29 entrants.

Danielle is coached by Simon and Debi Briggs, in Dundee, supported by Gary Peed, Peter Bækgaard and Lisa Beaumont in Basingstoke.

Click here to watch the video of Dannielle carrying the torch http://youtu.be/Wdvt9tO6DE8.