Giancarlo Peris, an Italian track athlete of Greek descent, was the final bearer of the Olympic torch for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.
Mariya Dzhumabaevna Pinigina is a retired athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres, training at Spartak in Kiev. She represented the Soviet Union.
The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China. The relay, also called by the organizers as the "Journey of Harmony", lasted 129 days and carried the torch 137,000 km (85,000 mi) – the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay since the tradition was started ahead of the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Jin Jing is a Chinese female Paralympic fencer. She was a torchbearer carrying the Olympic torch amid political protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Paris, France. According to ABC News, she fended off protestors who "threw themselves" at her; most were wrestled away by French police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away. Jin has gained national fame in China because of the incident, but was attacked on Chinese internet bulletin boards for her stance in the following call to boycott French retailer Carrefour that resulted from public anger toward France. In contrast, Western media concentrated on how the incident involving Jin Jing ignited Chinese nationalism and claimed that the incident was exploited for propaganda purposes by the state media.
Fritz Schilgen was a German athlete and the final torchbearer of the first Olympic torch relay at the 1936 Summer Games.
The 2008 Summer Olympics summit of Mt. Everest was the special route of the torch relay as part of the 2008 Summer Olympics taking place in China. Torchbearers reached Mt. Everest at 9.20 in the morning on May 8, in parallel with the Shenzhen route. Another name for the climb is the Beijing Olympics Torch Relay Qomolangma Leg.
The 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay was a 106-day run, from October 30, 2009 until February 12, 2010, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Plans for the relay were originally announced November 21, 2008 by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). Communities were initially informed in June 2008, but the locations were not announced for "security reasons". Exact routes were later announced several weeks before the start of the torch relay.
The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011.
The 2009 East Asian Games torch relay was the torch relay portion prior to the opening of the East Asian Games. It took place on 29 August 2009 on the 100th day countdown to the games. About 500 local schools held torch relay activities from September 2009 to November 2009 prior to the start of the games in December. The torch pipe was designed by HK designer Kan Tai-keung (靳埭強). The relay held the theme "Light the way to the EAG".
George G. Weedon was a British gymnast who competed at two Summer Olympic Games. In 1948 in London he participated in the Men's Individual All-Around, Team All-Around, Floor Exercise, Horse Vault, Parallel Bars, Horizontal Bar, Rings, and Pommelled Horse, placing 12th out of 16 nations in the team competition, and no higher than 38th individually. In 1952 in Helsinki he competed in the same events, finishing 21st out of 23 countries in the team tournament and no higher than 116th in the individual ones. A lifelong friend was fellow competitor Frank Turner.
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics torch relay was run from 23 July until 14 August 2010, prior to the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore. The torch relay was termed The Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, or JYOF, by the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC). It began with the traditional flame lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece on 23 July 2010, and was followed by a 13-day round the world tour across five cities, namely Berlin, Germany; Dakar, Senegal; Mexico City, Mexico; Auckland, New Zealand; and Seoul, South Korea. Following the international leg, the torch arrived in host city Singapore on 6 August 2010 for the domestic leg.
Aleksandr Ivanov is a former wrestler who competed for the Soviet Union at the 1976 Summer Olympics, where he won a silver medal in the men's freestyle 52 kg.
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 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay was the transferral of the Olympic Flame to Sydney, Australia that built up to the 2000 Summer Olympics. The torch travelled to various island nations as part of a tour of Oceania before beginning an extensive journey around Australia. For the first time the Flame was taken underwater, with a special flare-like torch taken on a dive down to the Great Barrier Reef. At the opening ceremony the cauldron was lit by Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman.
The London 2012 Olympic Torch was carried around the UK for 70 days in the London 2012 Torch Relay, from 19 May to 27 July 2012.
The 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from April 27, 1996, until July 19, 1996, prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The route covered 26,875 kilometres (16,699 mi) across the United States and included a trek on the Pony Express, a ride on the Union Pacific Railroad, and a torch was taken into space for the first time. The relay involved over 12,000 torchbearers, including Muhammad Ali, who was chosen to light the Olympic cauldron.
Vladimir Balynetc is a powerlifter from Russia. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics he won a silver medal in the men's 48 kg powerlifting event, lifting 170 kg (375 lb).
The 2015 Pan American Games torch relay was a 41-day torch run, occurring from May 30 to July 10, 2015, being held prior to the start of the Games. The relay brought the torch from Mexico to the Pan American Ceremonies Venue for the opening ceremony.
Lorraine Mercer MBE is a British Thalidomide survivor.
Her motto is "No limbs? NO LIMITS!"
Erim Metto, is a Turkish-British film director, producer, screenwriter, and business executive. He is the first Turkish Speaking magistrate in the United Kingdom. He was the editor of the book Departures and Arrivals written by Hatice Abdullah. He was a torch bearer for the 2012 London Olympics.
