Ten Tales of the Crazy History of the Olympic Flame

The Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024 are approaching. And with them the Olympic flame relay until the opening ceremony.

It will pass through 400 cities and 100 symbolic locations in France from May 8 to July 26, 2024. The design of the torch that will serve as a vessel on his journey was revealed this Tuesday.

Her journey through 64 regions including five overseas will be long and beautiful but probably not easy. in the past and Since the torch relay was held in 1936 on the occasion of the Berlin OlympicsThe Olympic flame has had many adventures, whether in space, underground or on horseback.

1936 (Berlin Games, Germany): Vegetable Torch?

The first torch relay in the history of the Olympic Games, and the first curiosity. The Nazi regime never once considered lighting the torch, however A stalk of fennel so that the burning lasts longer. An idea that was finally abandoned in favor of a more traditional silver igniter made of iron.

But the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bfennel is not so absurd when you learn that in Yugoslavia, one of the seven countries that the torch has crossed, the latter has almost died out. The athletes carrying it by car had to be taken to the next stage …

1948 (London, UK): Apollo vehicle to carry the torch

Who said you have to be in good shape to carry the Olympic flame? This standard was clearly present in the specifications of King George VI and Queen Consort of the United Kingdom Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. While that Sydney Wooderson, a British athlete who specializes in long-distance running, is expected to carry out the last torch relayAnother necessary option. The Queen pays for John Mark, an athlete with the physique of Apollo, and wins the case. It was he who lit the Olympic flame at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 26, 1948.

1956 (Melbourne, Australia): The prankster in the underwear on fire

The torch relay to Melbourne features a schoolboy trick. As the torch passes through Sydney, the medical student deceives security and the crowd by tampering with it A fake flame made of a stick, a tin can and … flaming underwear! His prank will come to an end as he manages to deliver the mock torch to the Mayor of Sydney, 15 minutes before the real athlete arrives.

1968 (Mexico City, Mexico): Woman carrying the torch for the first time

Hedgehog specialist, 20 years old, Enriqueta Basilio became the first woman in Mexico City to carry the Olympic torch and light the cauldron In front of 84,000 spectators at the University Olympic Stadium on October 12, 1968. It took the woman 32 years to participate in the Olympic torch relay.

1976 (Montreal, Canada): Light the Flame…by Satellite!

How can the Olympic flame be transported between Athens and Ottawa without having to travel the 7,750 km that separates the two cities? Add to this conundrum the need for the same flames lit in Greece to land in Canada and you’ve got yourself a nice knot in the brain of the regulators. Knots solved by having It uses the satellite signal sent by the original flame. Once received, he enables the laser beam to ignite in Canada to rekindle the flame. The relay can begin in Montreal, the venue for the XXI Olympiad.

1984 (Lawrers Angeles, USA): Physical Transport

Ninety-five steps to climb, top of a 50-degree inclined staircase: this is where the last torchbearer was to climb in 1984 to operate the aquarium. So physical that the torchbearer, Raphael Johnson, suffers from a cramp during training. Nothing serious, but the organization is monitoring the situation and plans to replace him: Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Montreal Olympic decathlon champion. If Johnson were to stop again, Jenner wore tracksuits under his ceremonial dress to intervene.

1992 (Barcelona, ​​Spain): A flame at the end of an arrow

And Antonio Ribolo, a disabled Spanish archer, overcame the pressure. To the sound of drums, drowning in darkness and an arrow in perfect order, he set fire to the Olympic cauldron on June 25, 1992, and at the same time, the entire Montjuïc stadium in Barcelona. acrobatic shot forever etched in history, It was made possible by an arrow made of hardened duralumin one meter long, which prevented the athlete from getting burned.

1996 (Atlanta, USA): Torch on Horseback

Whoever says Olympic torch relay, says passing through great places. in 1996, It’s a totally historic route into the spotlight: “Pony Express,” The United States Postal Delivery Service, active in the early 1860s.

The Olympic flame travels a total distance of 875 km between Goldsburg, Colorado, and St. Joseph, Missouri, in 58 hours. All on horseback, with riders carrying in addition to the torch 1000 letters from the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games.

2000 (Sydney, Australia): Flame at 2,000 Degrees

What would the torch relay in Australia be without getting as close as possible to the Great Barrier Reef? To achieve this performance, it was necessary to use a A special flame that burns at 2,000 degrees, fueled by a chemical solution, required nine months of research. In total, the torch spent 2 minutes and 40 seconds submerged around the Port Douglas reef, with biologist Craig Dukan as the torchbearer.

2008 (Beijing, China): The flame was voluntarily extinguished in Paris

Passing through France, one of the 20 countries visited by the torch relay (137,000 km in all), the torch had a bumpy ride to Paris. Pro-Tibet demonstrations during his military parade took place in the capital’s streets To ensure her protection, she was put out four times to be housed in a bus. Each time, this decision came as protesters obstructed the progress of the march. The organizers of the Beijing Olympics even decided to cancel the festivities planned for the Hôtel de Ville after this and omit the last relays to the Stade Charléty, the end of the Games.