Some of the Turin 2006 torchbearers are saying that there’s just one problem with the torch for this year’s Turin Winter Olympic Games – it’s too heavy.
The Observer reports that at nearly two kilos runners carrying the aluminium torch in relay across Italy to the Opening Ceremony say it is difficult to hold aloft for long.
The newspaper quotes Greek pole vault champion Kostas Filippidis saying, “running with it is quite tough. I don’t think it’s possible to run even 100 metres with your arm outstretched, and if you bend your arm you risk the flame coming too near your body”.
Former boxing champion Nino Benvenuti of Italy said, “the torch is a bit too heavy and you can’t run as you would like. I had to keep changing it from arm to arm in order to hold it up”.
Francesco Lovo, head of the design team, said the torch had to be “very robust” to cope with extremes of weather. “We were working to specifications given to us by the Winter Olympics Committee”, he said. Committee members wanted to avoid problems afflicting the Athens 2004 torch, which weight 770 grams and was deemed to fragile.
Only two other torches have reportedly been heavier. The torch for the 1964 Innsbruck Games weight 2.25 kilo and the 1948 London Games torch weighed 2.15 kilos.
Lovo denied a report in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero that the torch was dangerous because runners were forced to hold it too close to their bodies. He said, “it’s a real flame, not a flashing light, so of course people have to be careful and hold it at a distance.
“Everything is a trade-off, but we felt it was important to have a torch that was safe, resistant to weather and strong enough to withstand human error, such as someone dropping it. There is no protocol about how it’s carried. You can walk with it, run with it, hold it high or at waist level. It’s up to the individual runners”.
