Here we have a lovely 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics torch used in the relay that took the Olympic flame 65,000 km from Olympia, Greece to the Russian host city over a period of 123 days. It remains the longest, in time and distance, that an Olympic flame has traveled for a Winter Games, although runners carried it just 2,615 km of the way in Russia. The flame reached the North Pole, Europe's highest peak (Mount Elbrus) and the world's deepest lake (Lake Baikal); it was even flown into space for the first time by a Soyuz rocket. What the 2014 Winter Games may most be remembered for is President Vladimir Putin's mind-boggling spending spree to showcase his proud country to the world.
A team of Russian designers led by Vladimir Pirozhkov and Andrei Vodyanik came up with the torch's beautiful aesthetic look depicting a bird’s feather in reference to the Phoenix, a fire bird symbolizing good luck and fortune in Russian folklore. The silver in the design represents ice while red is the traditional color of Russian sports teams and signifies the fire kindling in the surrounding mountains of the Black Sea resort community. Near the flame opening at the top is "sochi.ru 2014" emblazoned with the Olympic rings logo. Made of a aluminum and polymer, the torch is 95 cm long (37.5"), 15 cm at its widest point, and weighs 3.8 lbs. Many torchbearers complained about its weight slowing them down during the relay. The flame opening at the top has darkened from combustion and the outer silver panel on the handle exhibits strong use. Overall, the torch remains in NM-MT condition and comes with its original protective bag.
This lot also includes the Russian torchbearer's official 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics relay diploma (in Cyrillic) and his/her official relay-worn uniform including jacket, pants, beanie hat and pair of gloves all made by Russian apparel maker and Olympic partner, Bosco. The white jacket and matching pants (both size L) each have the 2014 Sochi Games logo and show moderate wear. The beanie and gloves show little to no wear. What an outstanding complete torch relay set with impeccable provenance for one's Olympic collection.