Olympic swimming champion Gregorio Paltrinieri and fellow Summer athletes started the torch relay for the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Saturday — marking exactly two months before the Feb. 6 opening ceremony.

Paltrinieri carried the sleek torch around the track of the statue-lined Stadio dei Marmi at the Foro Italico in Rome to begin a trek covering 12,000 kilometres (nearly 7,500 miles) that will wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces before reaching Milan's San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony.

"It's a pleasure to be part of the Olympic movement even if it's Winter Olympics," Paltrinieri said.

In all, there will be 10,001 torch bearers.

WATCH | The design, development of the Olympic torch:

The making of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic torch April 14 | Duration

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