page_title: 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay
section_title: Route
hierarchical_section_title: 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay / Route
caption_attribution_description: President George W. Bush speaks during the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay Ceremony on the South Lawn Dec. 22. "Each torch bearer's story is a lesson in citizenship and courage and compassion," said the President announcing the two torch runners, Liz Howell and Eric Jones. Both runners were profoundly affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.
context_page_description: The 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay was a 65-day run, from December 4, 2001 until February 8, 2002, prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The runners carried the Olympic Flame throughout the United States - following its lighting in Olympia, Greece to the opening ceremony of the 2002 games at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 2002 torch relay was also the 50th anniversary of the Winter Olympic torch relay, which was first run during the 1952 Winter Olympics.
context_section_description: On November 19, 2001, the first 2002 Olympic torch was lit at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece. Greek actress Thalia Prokopiou played the role of high priestess and lit the torch using a flame kept in a clay urn. Usually the torch is lit using a parabolic mirror and the sun's rays, but for the third games in a row, cloudy conditions prevented that from happening during the ceremony. The weekend prior to the lighting ceremony, the flame held in the clay urn had been lit using the parabolic mirror and the sun's rays in case of this situation. Following the ceremony, a two-day Greek torch relay carried the flame to the Panathenian stadium in Athens, Greece, where it burned in a cauldron for two weeks.
  On December 3, 2001, a Greek skier, Thanassis Tsailas, lit a 2002 Olympic torch from a flame in the cauldron, which in turn was used to light a ceremonial lantern. This lantern was then flown aboard the Soaring Spirit to Atlanta, Georgia, where it arrived on the morning of December 4. The lantern was unloaded and Bonnie Blair used its flame to light a temporary cauldron to be used at the celebration in Atlanta. During this celebration, Muhammad Ali lit a 2002 Olympic torch from the flame in the temporary cauldron, which he then passed to Olympians Peggy Fleming and Bob Paul, who began the 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay.
  December 3–4: Athens, Greece to Atlanta, Georgia to Greenville, South Carolina
  December 5: Greenville to Charlotte, North Carolina
  December 6: Charlotte to Charleston, South Carolina
  December 7: Charleston to Orlando, Florida
  December 8: Orlando to Miami, Florida
  December 9: Miami to New Orleans, Louisiana
  December 10: New Orleans to Beaumont, Texas
  December 11: Beaumont to Houston to San Antonio, to Austin, Texas
  December 12: San Antonio to Austin, Texas to Dallas, Texas
  December 13:Dallas to Little Rock, Arkansas
  December 14: Little Rock to Memphis, Tennessee
  December 15: Memphis to Nashville, Tennessee
  December 16: Nashville to Louisville, Kentucky
  December 17: Louisville to Cincinnati, Ohio
  December 18: Cincinnati to Charleston, West Virginia
  December 19: Charleston to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  December 20: Pittsburgh to Martinsburg, West Virginia
  December 21: West Virginia to Washington, D.C.
  December 22: Washington to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  December 23: Philadelphia to New York City, New York
  December 24: New York City (rested in a special cauldron at Rockefeller Center for the Christmas Holiday)
  December 25: New York City (rested in a special cauldron at Rockefeller Center for the Christmas Holiday)
  December 26: New York City to Providence, Rhode Island
  December 27: Rhode Island to Boston, Massachusetts
  December 28: Boston to Lebanon, New Hampshire
  December 29: New Hampshire to Lake Placid, New York
  December 30: Lake Placid to Syracuse, New York
  December 31: Syracuse to Buffalo, New York
  January 1: Buffalo to Cleveland, Ohio
  January 2: Cleveland to Columbus, Ohio
  January 3: Columbus to Fort Wayne, Indiana
  January 4: Fort Wayne to Chicago, Illinois
  January 5: Chicago to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  January 6: Milwaukee to Detroit, Michigan
  January 7: Detroit to Indianapolis, Indiana
  January 8: Indianapolis to St. Louis, Missouri
  January 9: St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri
  January 10: Kansas City to Omaha, Nebraska
  January 11: Omaha to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  January 12: Oklahoma to Santa Fe, New Mexico
  January 13: New Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona
  January 14: Arizona to San Diego, California
  January 15: San Diego to Los Angeles, California
  January 16: Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo, California
  January 17: San Luis Obispo to Seaside, California
  January 18: Seaside to San Francisco, California
  January 19: San Francisco to Sacramento, California
  January 20: Sacramento to Lake Tahoe, California
  January 21: Lake Tahoe to Sparks, Nevada
  January 22: Sparks to Portland, Oregon
  January 23: Portland to Seattle, Washington
  January 24: Seattle to Alaska to Spokane, Washington
  January 25: Spokane to Boise, Idaho
  January 26: Boise to Idaho Falls, Idaho
  January 27: Idaho Falls to Bozeman, Montana
  Janua
caption: President George W. Bush, with the flame behind, speaks at the White House.
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