Having a good style of running, being handsome, being born on an explosive date, winning a children's race and being an all-round champion 24 years earlier are among the reasons for people being in a select group. Who are the five people and what is the group?

Datsmeharse

Olympic Cauldron lighters Schilgen, Mark, Sakai, The young Koreans in 1988 (or perhaps Peris), and Johnson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_lit_the_Olympic_Cauldron click on Mark's name for his reference Jul 28 12, 9:11 PM

gmackematix

Yay, DMH. You have indeed lit upon the answer. Fritz Schilgen was the first to light the Olympic cauldron at Berlin in 1936, having been chosen by an aesthetics comission for his running style. His moment of glory can be seen in Leni Riefenstahl's famous Nazi propaganda film of the event, "Olympia". Fritz never competed in the Olympics but later helped to plan the 1972 Olympics in Munich. John Mark, chosen for his "Olympian good looks", lit the torch at the next Olympics in London in 1948. After the Olympics he worked as a Hampshire GP. After "flying Finns" who had won 13 golds between them lit the cauldron in Helsinki in 1952 and athlete Ron Clarke lit the main one in Melbourne in 1956, Rome held a junior cross-country run to determine who would light it in 1960. The winner, Giancarlo Peris, also went on to be a teacher, trainer in an athletics club and poet. In 1964, runner Yoshimori Sakai, born on the day Hiroshima was bombed, was chosen as a symbol of postwar reconstruction and peace. He then worked as a sports journalist for Fuji TV. Mexico City, 1968, saw Eniqueta Basilio become the first woman to light the cauldron. The Munich games in 1972 saw a junior 1500 metre champion, Gunther Zahn, do the honours followed by two runners, a 15 year old English girl and 16 year old French girl who lit it together in 1976 in Canada. Since then the big flame has largely been lit by former Olympians. In 1980 it was Sergei Belov who achieved 4 basketball medals including the controversial gold of 1972. In 1984, it was 1960 decathlon winner Rafer Johnson. Seoul went back to amateur athletes and then Antonio Rebollo, three times Paralypic champion fired the famous arrow in Barcelona while an engineer ignited the cauldron from underneath. Boxer Mohammed Ali, runner Cathy Freeman, sailor Nikolaos Kaklamanakis and gymnast Li Ning take us up to London 2012, with the seven chosen by former Olympians to inspire the next generation. Jul 29 12, 5:25 PM