During the Vistula Run, as the event is called, the torch-bearers cover 800 kilometers, traveling on roads that pass through villages and cities-including Warsaw-along Poland’s Vistula (Wisla) River. The run is the brainchild of Ryszard Parulski, a fervent right-winger and former Olympic medalist-he won the silver for fencing in the 1964 summer games in Tokyo and a bronze in the ‘68 games in Mexico City-who now makes his living as a lawyer in Warsaw.
The 62-year-old Parulski first dreamed of bringing the Olympics to Warsaw 20 years ago when the country was still under communist rule. Five years ago, determined to transform his idea into a reality, Parulski founded the Foundation for the Olympic Games in 2012 and convinced his friends, whom he says are “all fanatics about sports” to help him. But he wanted to involve the Polish people in the effort too. The run, which began Sept. 1 in the southwestern mountain town of Wisla and finishes on Sept. 15 in the northern port city of Gdansk (to coincide with the opening day of the Sydney Olympics) does just that. As athletes make their way from one town to the next, local children run beside them, dropping out and joining in every few kilometers in relay-like fashion. Parulski not only wants to promote the idea of hosting the 2012 Olympics, but hopes to get kids more excited about athletics in general, too. “We want to change the mentality of the society in Poland about sports,” he says.
Another run is on the agenda for next spring along Poland’s borders. And Warsaw 2012 is beginning to draw support from politicians as well, says Parulski. The lawyer says he received a letter of support from Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek him and the country’s Minister of Sports intends to be in Gdansk on Friday when the run comes to an end. Still, what Parulski needs most is the backing of the Mayor of Warsaw-he can’t make an official Olympic bid without it (the final decision of where to host the 2012 Olympics will be made in 2005.)
In the meantime, Parulski pushes on, hoping to make a difference. “We want people to shout from all over Poland, ‘We want the Olympic games,’” he says. His goal: to light up Warsaw in 2012 with real Olympic torches.
