The Olympic Torch Carried by Dr. Vildan Mullin

During the ancient Games in Olympia, Greece, a flame ignited by the sun burned continually on the altar of the goddess Hera. The modern Olympic flame was first seen in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, where it burned constantly throughout the Games.

The modern Olympic Torch Relay tradition began in 1936 in Berlin. The torch is lit by the sun in Olympia, Greece, as it was in ancient times, and then passed from runner to runner in a relay to the host city. When it arrives at the host city, it is used to light a flame in the Olympic stadium during the opening ceremony. The flame then burns throughout the Games and is extinguished at the closing ceremony.

The torch being handed off to Dr. Mullin

This year, the Olympic flame left Ancient Olympia, Greece, on Nov. 19, 2001. Lefteris Fafalis, a Greek cross-country skier, along with other Greek athletes, carried the torch to Athens to burn in Panathenian Stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896. More than 11,000 Americans participated in the torch relay. Proudly a member of the Department of Anesthesiology was able to share in this tradition. Pfizer, Inc. invited Dr. Vildan Mullin to contribute as a torchbearer on Sunday, January 6, 2002. Dr. Mullin carried the torch .2 of a mile in Warren, Michigan. The torch arrived in Salt Lake City on February 8, 2002.

Olympic Torch Relay Facts

The 2002 Olympic torch is 33 inches long, weighs three pounds and features class cut to look like ice
Total distance: more than 13,500 miles
11,500 torchbearers participated
Relay spanned 46 states over 65 days
Average distance: 208 miles per day
Relays lasted 12 hours per day
A flame lit in Greece was kept in a lantern, which was used to light the flame each morning of the relay
The flame traveled by foot, auto, plane, train, ship, dog sled, skier, horse-drawn sleigh, snowmobiles and other modes of transportation



Dr. Mullin arriving at his starting point	The torch being handed off to Dr. Mullin

…and he is off!	Vildan Mullin, MD

Christine Manley, Dawn Osborn, and Mike Sikorsky cheer from the side lines