Official 1968 Mexico Olympics ‘Type 3’ torch, constructed of silver aluminum with a wooden handle, measuring 20.75″ in length and 4″ at its widest point. The upper metal ring features a pattern of six doves and the metallic label at the bottom reads “Mexico” twice. The base of the handle bears an affixed label which features the logo of the Games and names the designer, Manuel Villazon, and manufacturer, Productos Victor S.A. The torch relay recreated the route taken by Christopher Columbus to the New World, and began on August 23, 1968, in Olympia, Greece. It notably traveled through Columbus’s birthplace in Genoa, where he set sail from Palos in Spain, and the first land he reached in San Salvador. In all, there were 2,778 torchbearers on the 13,546 km route.
