Maiko Greenner and Rob Borrelli paid their dues to bear the Olympic torch.
Not just any duo could trek around downtown Toronto Amazing Race-style on a drizzly day carting food from Queen's Quay to the Distillery District, pleading with the public on Speakers Corner, running Blue Jays tickets to Nathan Phillips Square and frantically searching for clues in the reference library.
But the couple, both 31 and engaged to be married next year, prevailed in just under three hours. Their prize: a trip to Florence, Italy, where they will each carry the Olympic torch for one kilometre in the relay leading up to the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.
"After this [the torch bearing]will be easy," said Ms. Greenner, who heard about the contest through an e-mail.
Calling themselves Team Triumph, theirs was one of nine teams to compete in Toronto. To apply for the competition, contestants had to write a short essay about how they reflected Olympic ideals of tolerance, equality, fair play and peace.
Samsung Electronics, a sponsor of the coming Olympics, held the race in Yonge-Dundas Square yesterday morning. Similar contests will be staged in Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver and Halifax over the next week to choose the eight remaining torch bearers.
"We wanted to choose somebody who embodied the Olympic spirit," Samsung corporate marketing manager Angie Schwecke said.
Ms. Greenner and Mr. Borrelli thought that they had lost the race after the first challenge, which was to buy a load of groceries and take it to the Distillery District.
They had to repeat the challenge after leaving a bag of groceries at Queen's Quay.
"We were just trying to stay positive after we totally messed up," Ms. Greenner said.
They managed to make up the time and come in 10 minutes ahead of the second-place contestants.
Olympic figure skater Jennifer Robinson was on hand to deliver the prizes to the winners.
Ms. Robinson, who now skates professionally, said that she misses the competitive spirit of the Olympics.
But competition was in no short supply yesterday. The third-place winner walked away with a portable media centre. Second-place winners each got a camcorder.
For the Athens Olympics in 2004, Samsung sent nine Canadians to bear the torch. They won the privilege after proving their patriotism in a Canadian Idol event.