Jump to content

Plans for the Olympic Torch


Recommended Posts

Italy Plans El;aborate Torch Relay before Turin

Italy Plans Elaborate Torch Relay Before Turin

By ARIEL DAVID, AP

ROME (Nov. 22) - Venetian gondolas, horses and even a Ferrari will help transport the torch across Italy for the Turin Olympics.

The Olympic flame begins a 64-day, 7,020-mile relay through every Italian province on Dec. 8, sailing Venice's Grand Canal on gondolas, crossing the Alps on horseback and parading in a sports car through the Ferrari factory.

The flame will be lit Sunday in Ancient Olympia in Greece. After a 10-day relay in Greece, the torch will be flown to Rome.

Italy's Stefano Baldini, the marathon champion at the Athens Olympics, will be the first of 10,000 torchbearers. Each will carry the flame for about 400 yards.

"These 10,000 are an extraordinary symbol of our country's will to be there, to participate in these Olympics," Turin organizing chief Valentino Castellani said at Tuesday's torch relay presentation.

On its first day in Italy, the torch will pass by St. Peter's Square to receive a blessing from Pope Benedict XVI. Later, soccer stars Francesco Totti of AS Roma and Paolo Di Canio of Lazio will set aside the traditional rivalry of their teams to light each other's torch as they run one after the other in the relay.

Other torchbearers include Moroccan runner Hicham El Guerrouj, Italy's national soccer team coach Marcello Lippi and all Italian gold medalists from the Athens and Salt Lake City Games.

The last torchbearer, whose name has not been revealed, will light the flame at the opening ceremony in Turin on Feb. 10.

Before then, the torch will speed through the Ferrari plant in Maranello on Jan. 14 and pass from gondola to gondola in Venice on Jan. 17.

On Jan. 26 the flame will return to Cortina d'Ampezzo for the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Winter Games. There, the sleek aluminum torch will be put to the test when it takes to the sky with a ski jumper and journeys on bobsleds and horses.

Despite its simple design, the torch's internal mechanisms allow it to keep the flame alive in wind up to 75 mph, said designer company Pininfarina SpA.

"Its technical specifications are like those of a small car," said Andrea Pininfarina, chief executive of the Turin-based engineer of Ferraris and Fiats.

While passing through northern Italy, the torch will also make brief forays into neighboring Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and France.

Organizers also announced they had chosen 18-year-old figure skater Carolina Kostner to be Italy's flag bearer at the opening ceremony in Turin. Kostner won the bronze medal at the world championships this year.

Cool, I love the Olympics :).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...