Ronaldo da Costa could not hide his joy, full of cheer, he kept the crowds at fever pitch. The marathon runner, who received the torch on his knees, broke the record for the Berlin Marathon in 1998. Today he lends his energy today to the relay.

One of the celebrated torch bearers here in Bicas is sports journalist Marcelo Barreto, who will have the opportunity to participate in the relay in the city of his birth.

The first city of the day to receive the relay is Bicas, a municipality of around 15,000 inhabitants in the Minas Gerais countryside. The city's school children have decorated the stage in Praça São José to welcome the Olympic flame.