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gmason@globeandmail.com

While it will not go down as one of the smoothest handoffs in history, the Olympic flame that begins its Canadian travels starting today in Victoria left an ancient Greek stadium here yesterday to give life ultimately to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

"Today we accept the Olympic flame with humility and respect," said John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee.

This moment marks the beginning of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic torch relay. As the flame travels across Canada's vast landscape, it will shed light on the people, places and achievements of our country."

Usually an event heavy on theatre and lofty platitudes, the handover of the flame to Mr. Furlong was inadvertently sideswiped when it was revealed that disgraced Olympian Fani Halkia ran a leg of the week-long torch relay throughout Greece that preceded yesterday's ceremony at Panathenian Stadium.

Ms. Halkia won a gold for Greece in the 400-metre hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. But she was kicked out of the Games in Beijing after she tested positive for steroids. The International Olympic Committee has banned her from competition for at least two years.

Spyros Capralos, who, as president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, handed the Olympic flame to Mr. Furlong, was asked uncomfortable questions about how someone censured by the IOC ended up carrying the symbol of the very Olympic ideals she betrayed.

Mr. Capralos said the Greek relay torch commission made the mistake, and the HOC didn't catch it. He said the Greek Olympic commission believes no athlete under suspension should participate in a Games-related event.

The International Olympic Committee called Ms. Halkia's involvement "inappropriate and regrettable." It said in a statement that athletes who have had their Olympic Games accreditation removed or been found guilty of doping are prohibited from being torchbearers.

Gary Lunn, federal Minister of State for Sport, refused to be drawn into the matter. After being asked his position several times, Mr. Lunn said someone such as Ms. Halkia would not likely end up in a Canadian torch relay - not knowingly at least.

Mr. Furlong said he preferred to focus on the greater good of the relay and not "one moment in the course of a relay that will last 106 days in Canada."

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson was not as circumspect.

"I think this is a disappointment for the broader Olympic movement and for many people involved," said the mayor, who was also here for the handover ceremony. "It raises that dark side of competition."

Other than that, the handover went off without a hitch.

The Panathenian is on the site of an athletic venue built by the Greeks in the fourth century BC. It was rebuilt in the classical form in which it exists today in 1895 as the site of the 1896 Olympics, the first Games of the modern era. The Panathenian, which seats 70,000, became the model for athletic stadiums around the world.

Like the ceremony to light the flame more than a week ago in Olympia, the handover involved actors playing Greek priestesses.

After the flame was run into the stadium by Ontario-born Niki Georgiadou, a figure skater competing for Greece, the flame was handed to a priestess who used it to light a cauldron. The cauldron was then used to light one of the Olympic torches designed for the relay in Canada.

The torch was passed from Mr. Capralos to Mr. Furlong, who used it to light a single miner's lantern that will carry the flame to Canada aboard a Canadian Forces Polaris jumbo jet. It was due to arrive in Victoria at 7:15 a.m. today.

Also taking in the handover ceremony was Canadian Governor-General Michaëlle Jean and Greek President Karolos Papoulias. Ms. Jean later told reporters that Canadians would carry a torch that represents important values such as "peace, solidarity and fraternity."

Mr. Furlong must wait to see what kind of reception the torch gets in Canada as the relay begins in Victoria, heads north to the territories, down into the Maritimes and back across the country to Vancouver. The Games are set to begin on Feb. 12.

Protests are expected as early as today.

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LIGHT BRIGADE

DAYS 1 & 2

The Olympic Torch Relay begins its Canadian journey today, and The Globe and Mail will be with the flame every step of the way. The 106-day odyssey is about more than torchbearers and protesters. The Globe's relay team of top journalists will paint a compelling portrait of Canada as they travel the 45,000 kilometres, from the communities that swell with pride as the torch comes through to the people who put aside their challenges to cheer or jeer the famous visitor.