1968 Summer Olympics torch relay
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| Host city | Mexico City, Mexico |
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| Countries visited | Greece, Italy, Spain, Canary Islands, Bahamas (San Salvador), Mexico |
| Distance | 13,620 km (total) 2,530 km (on foot) |
| Torch bearers | 2,778 |
| Theme | Relay to the New World |
| Start date | 23 August 1968 |
| End date | 12 October 1968 |
The 1968 Summer Olympics torch relay took part as part of the build-up to the 1968 Summer Olympics hosted in Mexico City, Mexico. The Olympic flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, and retraced the steps of Christopher Columbus, founder of the New World. This theme celebrated the link between Latin-American and Mediterranean civilisations.
At the end of the relay the Olympic cauldron was for the first time lit by a female athlete. Mexican hurdler Enriqueta Basilio was chosen to complete the final leg of the 2,500 km running relay. The torch had covered a total distance of 13,620 km including the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
While the relay was largely successful it was marred by problems when exchanging the flame from one torch to another. Runners in Barcelona and Medinaceli were burned by small explosions as a lit torch came into contact with an unlit one.
American sculptor James Metcalf, an expatriate, won the commission to forge the torch for the Games. There were two torch designs used throughout the relay: Type A and Type B. The Type B torch was designed to follow the theme of the logo. It is grooved along its length and features a three-dimensional "MEXICO 68" at the top.
The torch used as a fuel source a compressed mix of nitrates, sulphur, alkaline metal carbonates, resins and silicones. It burned with a red-yellow flame. Problems with the torch occurred in Barcelona and then again in Medinaceli which saw minor explosions burn some torch-bearers. The cause was investigated and then attributed to "the too-rapid contact of a lighted torch with an unlighted one". Precautions were put in place to prevent further incidents.
For the first time runners from different nations took part in the relay. In each previous torch relay the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for the host nation provided all the torch-bearers, but for this event each country through which the torch passed was allowed to select their own representatives.
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