Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
{{Infobox Olympic torch relay | 2094 | Summer | | logo = Example.svg | caption = Example image | host city = Footown | countries visited = Fooia, Fooland, Republic of Foo | distance = 100,000 km | torch bearers = 9,001 | theme = United by Foo | start date = 10 May 2094 | end date = 15 September 2094 | torch designer = Foo McFoo | number of ...
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] It has taken place prior to every Games since.
At the end of the first Olympic torch relay, the Olympic flame arrives in Berlin, 1936. The Olympic torch relay, which transports the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece to the various designated sites of the Games, had no ancient precedent and was introduced by Carl Diem at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. [16]
A torch from the relay at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The torch was designed by Disney artist John Hench , who modeled it after the torches used in 1948 and 1956. The International Olympic Committee credits Ralph Lavers , who created the 1948 torch, as co-designing the 1960 torch with Hench. [ 4 ]
The 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay was the first of its kind, following on from the reintroduction of the Olympic Flame at the 1928 Games. It pioneered the modern convention of moving the flame via a relay system from Greece to the Olympic venue. Leni Riefenstahl filmed the relay for the award-winning but controversial 1938 film Olympia.
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 ...
The torch covered a distance of 18,000 kilometres (11,000 mi), the greatest distance for a torch relay in Olympic history until the 2000 Sydney Games, and a sharp contrast to the 1976 Montreal Games when the relay covered only 775 kilometres (482 mi). [7] Map of torch relay, starting from St. John's in the East. (Key: land, air.)
The 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay was a 65-day run, from December 4, 2001, until February 8, 2002, prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics. [1] The runners carried the Olympic Flame throughout the United States – following its lighting in Olympia, Greece , to the opening ceremony of the 2002 games at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah .