Olympic Torch relay enters Guinness Book of records, with final leg at the Akhmat Arena in the Chechen Republic

The Russian Olympic Torch Relay has taken its place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest winter torch relay preceding the Games. The eventful relay took the Olympic flame not only to the Peak of Mount Elbrus – where bright sun shone on the relay team as they traversed the picturesque snow covered mountains, it also travelled to the International Space Centre, the bed of Lake Baikal and passed through a total of 2900 Russian Cities en-route.

The relay started on 7th October 2013, with a staggering fourteen thousand torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame a total of 65,000 kilometres. The last 16.4km were around the city of Grozny, capital of the Chechen Republic, culminating with a ceremony at the “Akhmat-Arena”.