BUENOS AIRES, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Argentine soccer celebrity Diego Maradona will be the first runner to carry the Olympic torch when it arrives in Argentine capital Buenos Aires on April 11, if he is in Argentina, a source close to the negotiations told Xinhua on Tuesday. "He is willing and negotiations are going well," the source said, but he said that Maradona will be heading back from an overseas visit during this time, and has been unable to confirm for that reason.

Maradona, 47, has been formally invited by Francisco Irarrazabal, the deputy sports chief for Buenos Aires city council. The Argentine Olympic Committee did not invite him because their focus is on former Olympic athletes, a criterion Maradona fails to meet.

Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona (R) controls the ball under pressure from Bolivian presidential spokesman Alex Contreras during their friendly soccer match in La Paz March 17, 2008. Maradona will be the first runner to carry the Olympic torch when it arrives in Argentine capital Buenos Aires on April 11, if he is in Argentina.

If Maradona takes part he will carry the torch to the Puerto Madero Amphitheatre, on the corner of Juana Manso and Vera Penaloza street, reaching there at 2:00 p.m. local time.

Also taking part will be tennis player Gabriela Sabatini, silver medallist in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, who will run with the torch to the Palermo Horse Racing Club, reaching there at 4:00 p.m. local time.

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