OLYMPIA, Greece: A smile of relief shone from Maria Nafpliotou’s lips after she waited a long two minutes and 11 seconds to light her torch using the midday sun and a parabolic mirror.
The high priestess lifted the torch above her head amid applause from tourists at the Temple of Hera on the site of the first Olympics during the last dress rehearsal for Thursday’s ceremony to begin the Vancouver 2010 torch relay.
Nafpliotou, an Athens actress and dancer, transferred the flame to an urn, which was carried in a procession to the ruins of the ancient Olympic stadium by the party of 21 priestesses.
Seven of them danced and Nafpliotou reappeared to re-light the torch from that urn. For the first time in Winter Olympics history, the ceremony will conclude on the stadium grounds because the August 2007 forest fire torched the handover area traditionally used by previous Winter Games hosts.
Young Karolos Tsezanas handed Nafpliotou a freshly cut olive branch that Nafpliotou passed to Vassilis Dimitriadis, who will be the first runner on a 700-person, 2,180 kilometre torch relay around Greece. She lit the Vancouver 2010 torch held by the kneeling, three-time Olympic skier and sent him off with “Tinella o Kallinike Tinella” (well done, glorious victor).
Dimitriadis jogged 100 metres in his white Vancouver 2010 tracksuit with blue and green trim. He quickly removed the toque and red mittens on the hot autumn afternoon, just before a priestess released a lone dove into the cloudless blue sky.
“We don’t need the gloves, but we have to put it (on),” said a smiling Dimitriadis, who hopes to qualify to ski at Whistler in February. “That’s our job here, to have the gloves.”
Dimitriadis will run 400 metres Thursday and pass the torch to the next runner when the routine is performed for real and witnessed by invited guests and dignitaries, including International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, VANOC CEO John Furlong, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
If Nafpliotou can’t coax another natural flame from the sun, the one from Wednesday has been preserved as a backup. Hellenic Olympic Committee officials will keep a backup of the last flame lit at Olympia until the flame safely reaches Victoria for the Oct. 30 beginning of Canada’s 12,000-person, 106-day relay. The ultimate destination is Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium where a cauldron will be lit Feb. 12 and burn for the 17-day Winter Olympics.
“I thought it would be really neat to see the flame,” said VANOC executive vice-president Terry Wright. “But I was overpowered just by the ground we’re standing on and the thought 2,500 years ago people competing in peace began, and it’s such a great idea and we’re about to do our part to push it along.”
