LA 2028
How to Write an Olympic Torchbearer Nomination
What selection committees have asked for, and how to say it in 100 words
September 29, 20266 min read
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Why This Matters for 2028
LA28 will choose its torchbearers through "a nomination process" open to the general public, and its four presenting partners will pick some of their own. (What LA28 announced.) So for most people, the path to carrying the flame in 2028 runs through someone else writing a few sentences about them.
Those sentences will be read alongside a lot of others. For the 1996 relay, about 40,000 people were nominated for 5,500 community torchbearer places. For Salt Lake 2002, Coca-Cola alone received more than 125,000 nominations. Paris 2024 received more than 100,000 applications for 11,000 places.
Nomination forms for 2028 aren't open yet. When they are, this is how to write one that gets read to the end.
What Committees Have Looked For
The clearest published criteria come from Atlanta 1996. Nominations were limited to 100 words, and the organizing committee looked for:
- notable work as a volunteer
- service as a community leader, role model or mentor
- acts of generosity or kindness
- extraordinary feats or accomplishments
Salt Lake 2002 asked for "hometown heroes." Coca-Cola's 1996 program asked, "Who would you choose?" The questions change, but every version is after the same thing: a person, a specific thing they did for other people, and proof that it happened.
Athletic ability isn't on the list. You'll walk or jog about 200 to 300 meters with the torch, and people of every age and fitness level have done it.
A Structure That Fits in 100 Words
- Who they are, in one line. Name, town, and the role that matters here. "A crossing guard in Fresno for 22 years."
- One specific thing they did. Not a list of virtues. The one story you'd tell a stranger.
- Who it helped, with a number if you have one. "Four hundred kids a day." "Every Saturday since 2009."
- Why the flame fits them. One sentence connecting the person to what the relay stands for: showing up, carrying something for other people, finishing.
Then stop. A committee reading thousands of nominations remembers the specific ones.
An Example
This one is invented, to show the shape:
Rosa Delgado has run the free Saturday breakfast at St. Anne's in Tucson since 2011. She started with a hot plate and twelve people. Last winter she served 140 a week, and she knows most of them by name. When the church's kitchen flooded in 2023, she moved the breakfast to her own driveway for three months rather than miss a Saturday. She has never asked for anything in return. The torch is carried by people who keep a light going for others, and nobody in our city has done that longer than Rosa.
That's 94 words. It names one thing, gives numbers, includes a moment that shows character, and ends on why she belongs in the relay.
What to Leave Out
- Adjectives doing the work of facts. "Amazing," "inspiring" and "selfless" tell the reader nothing. Show what the person did.
- Their whole résumé. Pick one story.
- Asking for yourself in someone else's voice. Nominations read as real when the writer knows the person.
- Anything you can't stand behind. Torchbearers' stories often get told in public.
- Paying anyone. Nobody can sell a place in the relay. Anyone charging for a "guaranteed" nomination is running a scam.
Where to Submit in 2028
- LA28's public nomination, which LA28 says it will detail in the coming months. Sign up for updates on LA28's torch relay page.
- The presenting partners: Coca-Cola, JPMorganChase, Allstate and Xfinity, each of which will designate torchbearers. (How each has run programs before.)
- Your city, if it signs a Torch Relay Agreement with LA28. (How cities join.)
In Paris, the organizers and each partner ran separate campaigns, each with its own form and deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I nominate myself as an Olympic torchbearer?
In 1996 you could nominate yourself or someone else. LA28 hasn't published its rules for 2028 yet.
How long should a torchbearer nomination be?
Atlanta 1996 capped nominations at 100 words. Even where there's no limit, a short, specific nomination is easier for a committee to remember.
When do LA28 torchbearer nominations open?
LA28 says details are coming in the coming months. Based on recent Games, expect forms in 2027.
Do you need to be an athlete to carry the Olympic torch?
No. Most torchbearers since 1984 have been people nominated for what they've done in their communities.
If You're Nominating Me
I'm Tom Ciszek, from Santa Monica. When the forms open, I'll send the link to everyone on my list. If you write one for me, write what you actually know: where we met, what you've seen me do. That's the version that works.