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The first well-known major athlete to light the cauldron was nine-time Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Other famous final torch bearers include 1960 decathlon gold medallist Rafer Johnson, who became the first person of African descent to light the cauldron at the 1984 Summer Olympics, [1] French football star Michel Platini (), heavyweight boxing champion ...
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The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was introduced at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , as a way for Adolf Hitler to highlight the Nazi claim of Aryan connections of Germany to Greece. [ 1 ]
The 1984 torch relay was the first to last longer than two months, the first to be substantially funded by corporate sponsorships, and the first to visit all the major cities of the host country rather than traveling directly to the host city. This model has been followed by most Olympic torch relays that have occurred since.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, when the Olympic flame came to the Panathinaiko Stadium to start the global torch relay, the night was very windy and the torch, lit by Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee, blew out due to the wind, but was re-lit from the backup flame taken from the original flame lit at Olympia.
There were so many people there. People said there were 300,000 people watching me on my stretch. [1] I carried the torch down Unter den Linden past the statue of Frederick the Great. There was a big youth event with around 30,000 young people near the Old Museum. I ran past the youths and up to an altar as tall as a man. That's where I lit the ...
The Olympic torch relay began when the torch was lit at Olympia and Greek runner Stelios Bisbas began what was called "the longest torch run in history". [6] The flame arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean two days later and over 88 days, traveled west across Canada. [4]
The torch is made from a single sheet of medal and recycled aluminum and on top is a shape an iconic Japanese cherry blossom flower designed to bring the Japanese people together around messages of support, acceptance and encouragement of one another, while also reflecting the Olympic flame's ability to promote peace and hope to the world. The ...