Olympic flame reached Sochi after crossing Oceans, North Pole and Space

The Olympic flame on 5 February 2014 reached Sochi in Russia. The flame has travelled the longest route in the history of the games as it has completed a journey of about 65000 kilometers. During the journey, it traveled to the North Pole and also plunged into the world’s deepest lake. It also travelled to the Space by the cosmonauts of Russia and the western peak of Mount Elbrus, which is the highest peak of Russia and all Europe.

The torchbearers also included a 101-year- old man, table tennis referee Alexander Kaptarenko. The relay had generated a genuine public enthusiasm and has featured famous cultural figures, athletes and other celebrities. He ran for the relay in Novosibirsk and is the oldest Olympic torchbearer in history of the games.

The XXII Sochi Olympic Winter Games will be held from 7 to 23 February 2014.

Record-Setting Journey of the Torch: The torch journey started on 7 October 2013 from Moscow and stopped in more than 130 cities across Russia during the journey. The tour of the torch during its travel included torchbearers from eight Arctic nations and its flame travelled by plane, train, car and reindeer sleigh. In its complete journey, it included about 14000 torchbearers in the relay. In October 2013, during its journey to the North Pole it aboard on a nuclear-powered icebreaker. It was sent to the International Space Station on 7 November 2013 and reached there on 9 November 2013 by Cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazanskiy. In the space outpost, it didn’t burn.

Divers plunged it into Lake Baikal, that is the deepest and biggest freshwater lake of the world in November 2013. The divers went underwater with special torches burning. It also went through Chechnya and other provinces in Northern Caucasus during the relay. This area at present is engulfed by an Islamist insurgency that has issued threats to the Olympics. It reached on the Mount Elbrus, the Russia’s and Europe’s highest mountain on 1 February 2014.

Overall, the relay journey also saw death of 73-year-old Vadim Gorbenko’s death due to heart attack on 15 December 2014. He was a wrestling coach and his death came a few hours after carrying the Olympic flame in the city of Kurgan.