1968 Summer Olympics torch relay , of which was on foot and was on water. The cauldron was for the first time lit by a female athlete, Mexican hurdler Enriqueta Basilio. Basilio entered the Estadio Olímpico Universitario and ran a lap around the track before ascending the ramp up to the cauldron. 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
Siegfried Eifrig was chosen to carry the Olympic Flame which lit the cauldron at the first Olympic torch relay. His relay began at Unter den Linden and made its way to Olympic stadium in Berlin, where he lit two urns which burned until the end of the summer games. From the urns, the flame was then transferred to Fritz Schilgen, who lit the Olympic Cauldron in Olympic stadium. Even with his athletic talent, Eifrig did not make the German Olympic team. With his blond hair, blue eyes, and tall athletic physique, Eifrig was chosen to embody the Nazi's ideal Aryan athlete. Even