Atlanta to Achieve Olympic Torch Relay Five-Peat with Arrival of LA28 Flame & Coca-Cola Entourage

Somewhere along the way, I learned things go better with Coke. 

And many Olympic memories do include at least one of their beverages nearby, starting with their LA84 Sam the Olympic Eagle bottles.  

With the Atlanta-based global brand closing in on its Olympic sponsorship centennial in two years -- and given their lead presenting sponsor status for many five-ringed torch relays since 1992 -- it's fitting Tuesday's release of early details for LA28's Olympic Torch Relay took place at Atlanta City Hall.* 

In case you didn't already hear the news, the upcoming summer Games organizers and a tetrad of presenting sponsors (Coke with Allstate, JPMorganChase and Xfinity) will recruit and accompany torchbearers in all 50 U.S. states, a relay first. 

Another fact clear from the announcement: When the LA28 flame departs Greece in two Aprils from now, Atlanta will welcome the Olympic light and send on its North American journey with a flourish, much like Los Angeles did when the '96 Olympic Torch Relay began with Rafer Johnson 30 years ago.

The unveil did also specify the full route will be unveiled in 2027, according to the press release. It may not be the biggest torch relay worldwide, but may top the '96 and 2002 relays that touched much of the Continental U.S. 

But today's announcements also teased questions yet to be answered:

• How will torchbearers be nominated and selected, and by whom with what criteria?
• 
  How many thousands will be "real folks" versus sponsor-designated runners?
• Does "all 50 states" mean a focus on U.S. capital cities or a greater inspiration from specific icons of the American landscape?
• Will there be a single relay or multiple relays in play, borrowing from the Tokyo 1964, Sapporo 1972 and Nagano 1998 relay playbooks in which three runners/ entourages crossed Japan simultaneously in vastly different corners of the islands?
• How will Atlanta's Olympic cauldron factor given the recent strife over its location and whether it will move?

Watching taped remarks by the mayor, Janet Evans, Laila Ali and Coke's CEO yielded apt and repeating references to shared traditions from Los Angeles and Atlanta in 1996. 

I saw no mention, however, that LA28 will create an Olympic torch relay five-peat for the Georgia capital. Here's the breakdown on that:

• The LA84 relay crossed Atlanta on May 31 (one of my PR career saviors, Dick Yarbrough, was a BellSouth/AT&T torchbearer and regional organizer who ran on Peachtree Street, which he wrote about in the nonfiction book "And They Call Them Games" also detailing his later career work at ACOG)
• The '96 relay spent its penultimate day and night in Atlanta before the opening July 19
• Salt Lake 2002 kicked off their torch relay Dec. 4, 2001, with Muhammad Ali as the first torchbearer at Centennial Olympic Park 
• The Athens 2004 global Olympic Torch Relay was in Atlanta on June 18 
• Akin to "SNL" hosts, April 2028 elevates Atlanta to five-timer's club or an Olympic torch relay five-peat+

Something to love from today's announcement is the explanation of the torch relay "A" concept. 

Perhaps the "torches" of vertical lines, which in some ways vaguely resemble the Sydney 2000 torch design, offer a possible nod to the direction Los Angeles' torch shape may prove to be.

It was also fun to be among the first to follow @LA28TorchRelays. Everyone is encouraged to also keep tabs on LA28 Olympic Torch Relay updates via the landing page established for that purpose. 

And now, some questions for readers: Who would you nominate to carry the Olympic flame for LA28, and why? What qualifications do you think are apt for such an honor?

Also, where do you want to witness the array of powerful emotions inspired by the Olympic Torch Relay in the USA? 

An urban icon like the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (also home of the 1904 Olympic Stadium at WashU, a likely LA28 candidate for a celebration stopover) or a far-away picture postcard spot, like "Forrest Gump" leading the way Monument Valley?

He just felt like running.  

Please share your suggested destinations in the comments. 

I personally wouldn't mind seeing the relay back in my hometown Edmond, Okla., where the LA84 runners crossed about a mile from my childhood home, literally igniting much of my Olympic life, and the Atlanta relay visited on the morning of May 19, 1996 (my torchbearer segment was that afternoon in Oklahoma City). 

That would be some kind of three-peat!

*I just wish someone in the PR departments for City of Atlanta or Coke, Allstate, JPMorganChase or Xfinity -- the quaternion of presenting sponsors for the 2028 Olympic Torch Relay -- had invited this little Olympic blog that could reporter in Coca-Cola's hometown to their LA28 press event. I did appreciate the LA28 press team's apology for the oversight. 

+The concept of Olympic-specific five-peat is arguably the invention of International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH.org) lifetime member J. Brian Carberry, who meticulously updates five-ringed three-, four-, five- and more-peat details with each Games. Read his topical article here. 

All images via LA28 except the Coke Olympic pin photo at right by Nicholas Wolaver via WorthPoint.com and except for the Visit Utah photo by Melissa Kinney

Filmmakers Earn Props for New Netflix Olympic Sports Feature Doc 'Untold Raygun - Breaking Badly'

Olympic breakdancing never made my radar for Paris 2024. 

Instead, the women's beach volleyball final and women's soccer final, plus a water polo match, were the ticketed events du jour on 9-10 Aug., respectively. 

But almost everyone worldwide had some mix of breaking opinions thanks to Team Australia's entry, Rachael Gunn -- aka Raygun -- following her 0-54 final scores, with gold earned by Team Japan's Ami Yuasa, silver for Dominika Nicka Banevič of Lithuania and China's Liu 671 Qingyi with bronze.

For Raygun, sadly, most opinions skewed from bewilderment (was that for real?) to negative and into some of the Internet's darkest corners of false info spread by what one Aussie official aptly called out as work of "trolls and keyboard warriors" while defending Gunn.

Fortunately, Raygun's rep may earn an overdue or continuing turnaround with the release of the Netflix feature documentary "Untold Raygun - Breaking Badly" which is at once informative and entertaining while encouraging viewers to laugh with, not at, its subjects who earnestly present their truths on screen. 

Here's the trailer: 

As the film opens with Gunn describing her "wild dream" and proclaiming "I can't just be a meme," also foreshadowing the Paris fallout. 

Paraphrasing a pre-Olympics therapy session in which she proclaimed her anxious, growing concerns about the globally telecast competition exceeded common basics of imposter syndrome. 

Therapist: "What's the worst that could happen?

Raygun: "The whole world could laugh at me!"

Therapist, reassuring: "Do you think that's reasonable?" 

What makes "Untold Raygun" compelling out of the gate is the Olympian's frank descriptions and answers. In some camera-facing reveals, she is humble yet forthcoming. At other times there are tears or arms hoisted with confidence, or in defiance of forces described. By the film's closing shots, viewers have a 360 view of what makes Gunn tick.

At the center of her world is another key storyteller, husband Sammy. They met during her university days and his call center gig for Proactiv, and it's clear their bond was strong, forged in part by his B-Boy persona, Sammy Sex. 

"He was so good at supporting me and just reminding me I could do it," said Gunn. 

Except for their wedding home movies in which Sammy donned a crew cut and tux, here's the nicest guy -- worthy of the gold for supportive husband and inspirational coach -- channeling John C. Reilley's Reed Rothchild of "Boogie Nights" or John Oates of Daryl Hall fame, with the best Aussie accent and enunciation evah!

Viewers also meet several B-Girls who competed with Raygun on the lead to her Olympic trials win. Both of these breakers help frame the sport, how it's judged, and the culture and competitive friendships fostered in the culture around the sport, keeping things conversational versus deep dive technical. 

This viewer appreciated the broad strokes, taking a shine to the phrase "no easy props" meaning each dancer must prove themselves through hard work, practice and creativity (not a sport for anyone seeking free praise or pat-on-the-back attention). 

With the intro to Gunn's adorable parents, reminiscent of the quirky couples interviewed for "When Harry Met Sally," their daughter's youthful love of clarinet, ballet, tap and jazz appear with home movies. Their roller coaster to get to Paris then navigate their daughter's post-Games realities add an unexpected layer of drama and intensity. 

"She was just another suburban girl" who took home a high school senior trophy for most improved jazz dancing. A picture emerges of Gunn's academic approach to breaking, eventually earning a doctorate in the sport. 

Gunn's emotional arrival at the Paris Olympic Village reveals the jacked-up anxiety at play before the Breaking competition commenced. Scenes are punctuated by tracks from Moby ("Extreme Ways", Sia ("Unstoppable") and John Williams five-ringed anthems. National Seven News and Nine Network TV countdown coverage of Gunn mirror NBC's hype for Phelps, Biles or Ledecky, making it no wonder most of the nation Down Under was watching live at midnight Syndey time when Raygun entered the arena. 

Australianism emerges as another surprise treat. 

But the biggest surprise -- which delighted me as much as Rachel Dratch's appearance as Rachael on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" made me laugh -- arrives with Richard Branson describing the night he tuned into the Olympics from his living room in the Virgin Islands, complete with real kangaroos in his backyard. His outreach to connect with Gunn, suggesting ideas for designing her turnaround that ultimately led to the film. 

"Untold Raygun -- Breaking Badly" is a fun watch that may leave your head spinning for the intense online scrutiny Gunn endured. 

Images via Netflix except for "Boogie Nights" and "Daryl Hall and John Oates" publicity photos.