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List of torchbearers who have lit the Olympic cauldron - Wikipedia

  • ️Fri Feb 12 2010

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dilnigar Ilhamjan and Zhao Jiawen lit the cauldron at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022

The tradition of carrying the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games, to the host city of the modern Olympic Games via a torch relay was first introduced in 1936, ahead of the 1936 Summer Olympics. Since then, famous athletes (active or retired) with significant sporting achievements while representing the host country, promising young athletes, or other individuals with symbolic significance have been selected as the last runners in the Olympic torch relay and consequently have the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony.

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 (1992), heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali (1996), Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman (2000), the Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky (2010), the Brazilian marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (2016) and the South Korean figure skating champion Yuna Kim (2018). Most recently French sprinting star Marie-José Pérec and judo star Teddy Riner, both winners of multiple gold medals, lit the Olympic Cauldron at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.[2]

On other occasions, the people who lit the cauldron were not famous but nevertheless symbolized the Olympic ideals. Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai was born in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day the city was destroyed by an atomic bomb. He symbolized the rebirth of Japan after the Second World War when he lit the Olympic cauldron of the 1964 Summer Olympics. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, two teenagers—representing the French- and the English-speaking parts of the country—symbolized the unity of Canada. Norway's Crown Prince Haakon lit the cauldron of the 1994 Winter Olympics, in honour of his father and grandfather, both Olympians. For the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, seven aspiring young athletes—each nominated by a former British Olympic champion—had the honour of lighting the cauldron.

People who have lit the Olympic cauldron

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Games Location Lighter Sport Note Ref
2010 Summer Youth Singapore Darren Choy Sailing A Singaporean sailor who participated in the Games.
2012 Winter Youth Innsbruck Egon Zimmermann Alpine skiing Both Zimmerman and Klammer won the gold in the downhill event in 1964 and 1976 respectively, both years when Austria previously hosted the Winter Olympics. Gerstgraser was an athlete of the Austrian delegation competing in the Games.
Franz Klammer
Paul Gerstgraser Nordic combined
2014 Summer Youth Nanjing Chen Ruolin Diving Winner of back-to-back gold medals in diving in 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, in the 10 m and the 10 m synchronized. She would retain the latter's gold medal in 2016 Summer Olympics.
2016 Winter Youth Lillehammer Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway Non-athlete Elder child of Crown Prince Haakon, who previously lit the cauldron in the 1994 Winter Olympics. Her grandfather declared the Games open. [51]
2018 Summer Youth Buenos Aires Santiago Lange and Paula Pareto Sailing and judo As Buenos Aires 2018 was the first edition of an Olympic competition with gender equality, the lighting of the cauldron was carried out by a woman and a man. Pareto won bronze at Beijing 2008 and gold at Rio 2016 Olympics; Lange, won bronze at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics and was Olympic champion at Rio 2016 Games. [52]
2020 Winter Youth Lausanne Gina Zehnder Figure skating Youngest athlete of the Swiss delegation competing in the Games.
2024 Winter Youth Gangwon Lee Jeong-min Freestyle skiing Youngest athlete of the South Korean delegation competing in the Games.
  1. ^ Held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  1. ^ "Rafer Johnson, the Olympic gold medalist who helped bring the games to L.A., has died". 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ Fryer, Jenna (27 July 2024). "Who lit the Olympic cauldron?". wkyc.com. The Associated Press. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Berlin 1936". Olympic.org. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  4. ^ "London 1948". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Oslo 1952". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Helsinki 1952". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Melbourne – Stockholm 1956". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Squaw Valley 1960". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Rome 1960". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Innsbruck 1964". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Tokyo 1964". Olympic.org. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Grenoble 1968". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Mexico 1968". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Winter Olympics Open In Splendor at Sapporo". The New York Times. 3 February 1972. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Sapporo 1972". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Munich 1972". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Innsbruck 1976". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Montreal 1976". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Lake Placid 1980". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  21. ^ "Passing the test: How Charles Kerr was chosen to light the Olympic Cauldron". United States Olympic and Paralympic Museum. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Moscow 1980". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Sarajevo 1984". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles 1984". Olympic.org. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  25. ^ "Calgary 1988". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  26. ^ "Seoul 1988". Olympic.org. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  27. ^ "Albertville 1992". Olympic.org. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  28. ^ "Barcelona 1992". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Lillehammer 1994". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  30. ^ "Atlanta 1996". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  31. ^ "Nagano 1998". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  32. ^ "Sydney 2000". Olympic.org. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  33. ^ "Salt Lake City 2002". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  34. ^ "Athens 2004". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  35. ^ "Turin 2006". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  36. ^ "Beijing 2008". Olympic.org. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  37. ^ Friesen, Paul (13 February 2010). "Opening Ceremony timeline". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  38. ^ 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony (television). NBC Sports. 2010-02-12.
  39. ^ Kines, Lindsay (February 28, 2010). "Closing ceremony pokes fun at the 2010 Games". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  40. ^ "Cauldron moved into position in Olympic Stadium". BBC. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  41. ^ "#1YearOn........ Where are they now?". Team GB. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  42. ^ Majendie, Matt (26 July 2015). "Rio Olympics 2016: The seven teenagers still carrying a torch for our Games hopes". The Independent. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  43. ^ "Sochi Opening Ceremony: Rodnina, Tretyak light Olympic cauldron together". NBC Sports. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  44. ^ "Best man for the job: Vanderlei de Lima lights Olympic cauldron". NBC Sports. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  45. ^ "Formerly homeless boy who lit Olympic cauldron now has 'beautiful life'". CBC. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  46. ^ "Korean figure skater Kim Yuna lights Olympic cauldron". Yahoo Sports. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  47. ^ Imahashi, Rurika; Regalado, Francesca (23 July 2021). "Tokyo's Olympic flame burns at last after subdued ceremony". The Nikkei.
  48. ^ "Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony - Olympic cauldron lighting ends spectacular show". Olympics.com.
  49. ^ "Chinese athletes Zhao Jiawen and Dinigeer Yilamujiang deliver the final Olympic flame at the Beijing Games".
  50. ^ Hummel, Tassilo (26 July 2024). "French gold medallists Perec and Riner light Olympic cauldron". Reuters.
  51. ^ "Princess Ingrid Alexandra lit the Olympic fire". Norway Today. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  52. ^ "THE CAULDRON THAT LIT UP THE HEART OF BUENOS AIRES". International Olympic Committee. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.