While similar to the inaugural Summer Olympics torch relay of 1936 the Olympic Flame did not start in Olympia, instead the relay began in Morgedal, Norway, the birthplace of competitive skiing.
The Olympic Flames for the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo and the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, and the flame used in the national torch relay for the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer (which was later used as the flame for the 1994 Winter Paralympics), were all lit at the birthplace of Sondre Norheim, Øvrebø in Morgedal.
Morgedal |
It was popularized by Sondre Norheim of Morgedal in Telemark, when he demonstrated the ski and the Telemark style of skiing to the public at Christiana, Norway beginning in 1868.