Why were two Olympic Flames burning instead of one during the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid?

Answer 1

Not certain on the exact answer, but back in the 1952 Oslo Olympics a flame was lit in the town of Morgedal, Norway (the Nordic flame). It was this flame that lit the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony. This event also occurred prior to the 1980 Olympics (Lake Placid) and also before the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer). However at the 1994 Olympics the Nordic flame was combined with the Olympic flame and lit the Olympic cauldron. So at the 1980 Winter Olympics they may have used these two flames to light separate cauldrons persumably as a symbolic act of rememberance to the Nordic games which pre-dated the Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympic flame in 1952 (Italy) was lit from the eternal flame in Rome. Since 1994 only the Olympic flame has been used in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics mainly due to the fact that the Olympic relays have gone straight from Greece to the host country.