News It was carried by national idols and everyday heroes It travelled on the ground, in the air, across water and even abseiled On the first day of the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay, the inspirational flame spread its magic around the Federal District of Brazil One day down, 94 to go   After arriving at Brasília airport on an overnight flight from Switzerland, the Olympic Torch was transported to the Palácio do Planalto, the workplace of the federal government Following an official welcome by President Dilma Rousseff, the Olympic flame was passed to the first torchbearer, Brazilian women’s volleyball captain and two-time Olympic champion Fabiana Claudino “As a black Brazilian woman and an athlete, the feeling of representing the Brazilian people at the arrival of the Olympic flame on Brazilian soil is hard to contain,” she said Fabiana Claudino gets the show on the road (Rio 2016/Andre Mourao) Claudino was the first on an illustrious list of Brazilian sporting heroes that featured former surfing world champion Gabriel Medina, Olympic boxing medallist Adriana Araújo, marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima and swimming star Thiago Pereira ‘Normal people’ with amazing stories also carried the torch, such 12-year-old Syrian refugee Hanan Khaled Daqqah, award-winning mathematician Artur Ávila Cordeiro de Melo and inspirational head teacher Aurilene Vieira de Brito The torch travelled 100km around the Federal District on day one, with locals and tourists stretching their necks to gain a glimpse While some peaceful protestors raised banners with political messages as the torch passed, the atmosphere was generally one of excitement and festivity Arguably the most emotional reaction came in Taguatinga, about 30km from the centre of Brasília, where Joaquim Cruz, who won the 800m gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games,  carried the torch “I was born in Taguatinga, I studied and ran a few metres from here,” said Cruz, who is now a coach for the USA Paralympic team “Sport has taken me around the world and today I returned home with this beautiful torch, which seems magical when it opens ” Designed by urban planner Lúcio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer, the capital of Brazil was inaugurated in 1960, and the relay highlighted some of its carefully constructed attractions, such as Praça dos Três Poderes, the JK Memorial, a Metropolitan Cathedral and the Mané Garrincha Stadium, which will host some of the Rio 2016 football matches The Olympic flame was transported by various different means: it descended the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge with an abseiler, crossed the Paranoá Lake in a canoe, arrived at the Mané Garrincha in a helicopter and rode on horseback in Riacho Fundo As light faded, the torch returned, in the hands of volleyball star Leila, to the governmental promenade Esplanada dos Ministérios, where the day ended in classic Brazilian style, with a big party