DURBAN, South Africa (AP) — Russia plans to send the Olympic torch into space ahead of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov says his country aims to be the first to take the torch beyond the earth’s atmosphere as part of the longest Olympic relay.
Zhukov says Sochi organizers also plan to take the torch to the top of Russia’s highest mountain and the bottom of the world’s deepest lake.
Zhukov revealed plans for the Olympic flame to go on a 120-day, 17,000-mile journey with 14,000 torch bearers in the buildup to the Sochi Games, including visits to Mount Elbrus and Lake Baikal.
Zhukov announced the torch relay plans Thursday in a Sochi presentation to the International Olympic Committee.
