The Olympic Flame

• Code name - The Olympic Flame
• Mission - Run in every city in which the Olympic games have been held
• Expiration date - None, however increasingly difficult every four years
• Activation - Send us a "Activate mission" message (info(at)runtheplanet.com) including your name and nationality
• Report - Send us a "Mission completed" message (info(at)runtheplanet.com) including your name and running biography

The Mission

The Olympic games originally started in the city of Olympia, Greece, and were held every four years. Although it is calculated that the Olympic games have been held at least 293 times, the first written Olympic recordings date back to 776 bC. The last Olympic games in the ancient world were held in 389 aD, before being banned in 393 aD by the Roman emperor Theodore I The Great. The Olympics included sports such as running, boxing, wrestling and chariot racing, and since they were such an important and sacred event every war would cease to let athletes participate in the competitions. The participation was open to males only, and the winner of each event would be awarded with the prize of an olive wreath. Women were not admitted to the games, not even as spectators. The modern Olympic games date back to 1852, when the German archaeologist Ernst Curtius, while working on the ruins of Olympia, proposed to revive this ancient sport tradition. His idea was well received by Baron Pierre De Coubertin and with the motto "The important thing is not to win, but to participate" on June 23, 1884, he created a special committee to revive the games. The committee agreed that the first of the modern Olympics was to be held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. With re-establishing the four year laps between each edition, the Olympic games were held regularly until they were called off due to the war and began again in 1948, after a twelve year break.

In order to complete this mission you need to run in each of the cities listed below (following the city name you will find the nation and date of the Olympic games):

• Athens (Greece) 1896, 2004
• Paris (France) 1900, 1924
• Saint Louis (Usa/Missouri) 1904
• London (Great Britain) 1908, 1948
• Stockholm (Sweden) 1912
• Antwerp (Belgium) 1920
• Amsterdam (Netherlands) 1928
• Los Angeles (Usa/California) 1932, 1984
• Berlin (Germany) 1936
• Helsinki (Finland) 1952
• Melbourne (Australia) 1956

• Roma (Italy) 1960
• Tokyo (Japan) 1964
• Mexico City (Mexico) 1968
• Munich (Germany) 1972
• Montreal (Canada) 1976
• Moscow (Russia, former Ussr) 1980
• Seoul (South Korea) 1988
• Barcelona (Spain) 1992
• Atlanta (Usa/Georgia) 1996
• Sydney (Australia) 2000

Mission in Progress

Planeteers who are currently running this mission:

• William Barry (Usa/Virginia)
• Trish Weatherspoon (United States of America)
• Osman Atakan Tekin (Turkey)
• Your name and nationality here

Mission Completed

Planeteers who completed this mission:

• Your name and running biography here