1968 Summer Olympics torch relay 1968 Summer Olympics torch relay The 1968 Summer Olympics torch relay took part as part of the build-up to the 1968 Summer Olympics hosted in Mexico City, Mexico. The Olympic flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, and retraced the steps of Christopher Columbus, founder of the New World. This theme celebrated the link between Latin-American and Mediterranean civilisations. At the end of the relay the Olympic cauldron was for the first time lit by a female athlete. Mexican hurdler Enriqueta Basilio was chosen to complete the final leg of the 2,500 km running relay. The torch had covered a total
1948 Summer Olympics torch relay final few hundred yards of the relay down Olympic Way outside of Empire Stadium as the pressure of the crowds on the torch carrier and their escorts reduced the pace to walking speed. Special celebrations were held at each border crossing, and at Pierre de Coubertin's tomb in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was agreed for a secondary Olympic Flame to be lit in Torquay during the games, and a secondary torch relay was conducted to take the flame from Wembley south to the coast to Torquay. The arrangements were the same as from Dover to Wembley but in reverse. 1948 Summer