David Follet, before the flame went out (LOCOG)Anyone who's ever watched the Olympic torch relay invariably asks the following: What happens if the flame goes out? Organizers of London's 7,500-mile trek had to deal with that scenario on Monday, when the official flame was snuffed during the third day of the relay.
Wheelchair badminton player David Follett was carrying his torch through the town of Great Torrington in Devon when his flame extinguished. He had been riding with it in a holster attached to his chair. The error was blamed on a malfunctioning burner in the specially designed torches.
Workers in a nearby vehicle convoy quickly brought out one of the many replacement flames and gave Follett a new, lit torch. The flames are in miner's lanterns and are lit with the same original flame from the ceremony in Greece.
"It is not uncommon for a flame to go out and this can happen for a number of reasons, for example, in extreme winds," a LOCOG spokesman told The Telegraph, perhaps in a burst of expectant foreshadowing.
Each of the 8,000 relay runners use their own torch for the relay. They have an option to buy the torch for around $300 after they complete their route.