Snow Skills

The opening ceremonies are expected to be a theatric epic and the lighting of the Olympic Flame is surely one of the defining moments of an Olympic Games. There have been many memorable moments at both Summer and Winter Games, involving a variety of athletes and notable persons making dramatic statements. At the 1992 Barcelona Games, archer Antonio Rebollo, a paralympic athlete, shot a burning arrow into the Olympic Flame cauldron from a platform at the opposite end of the stadium. At Lillehammer 1994, the Olympic torch was finally brought into the stadium by a ski jumper, who flew off a nordic ramp, landed, and lit the cauldron. In Sydney 2000, the lighting of the Flame by Australian Olympian aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman was clearly a strong statement of reconciliation by the Australian government for a legacy of injustice to aborigines.

At Salt Lake City 2002, it was a moment for the ages in American sports when Muhammed Ali, slightly shaking from Parkinson’s Disease, (and who had lit the flame at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games) passed the torch one last time to the collective 1980 gold medal USA hockey team to light the flame.

So, who will be the last torch bearer for Torino 2006, the one to finally light the Olympic Flame? My guess is that Italy will take this opportunity to recognize its most successful contemporary champion. Look for Alberto Tomba to be the one, who was the first skier to medal in 3 different Olympic games, (Calgary 1998, Albertville 1992, and Lillehammer 1994) winning 3 gold medals and 2 silvers along the way. He was also the first alpine skier to win gold medals in 2 consecutive Winter Games when he won the slalom and giant slalom at Calgary 1988 then repeated in the giant slalom at Albertville 1992. He took his two silver medals in slalom in 1992 and 1994. After all that, he finished that string by winning the overall 1995 World Cup championship, along with the slalom and giant slalom titles in that year. He’s a playboy, internationally recognized, and basically was the ski racer that everyone had to beat for almost a decade.

Look for La Tomba to make more history tonight!