Hailed as a masterpiece of design and technology and created by Italy's top engineers, there's just one problem with the torch for this year's Winter Olympics in Turin. Many of the torchbearers say it is too heavy.

At nearly 2 kilos (4.4lb), runners carrying the aluminium torch in relay across Italy to the opening ceremony say it is difficult to hold aloft for long.

'Running with it is quite tough,' said Greek pole vault champion Kostas Filippidis, 19, one of the first torchbearers. 'I don't think it's possible to run even 100 metres with your arm outstretched, and if you bend your arm you risk the flame coming too near your body.'

'The torch is a bit too heavy and you can't run as you would like,' said Italian former boxing champion Nino Benvenuti. 'I had to keep changing it from arm to arm in order to hold it up.'

The Olympic flame - brought from Athens to Rome on 7 December - is on a two-month journey across Italy in the torch, which resembles the point of a ski. Produced by a team at the renowned Pininfarina design factory in Turin, it weighs 1.97 kilos (4.3lb).

Only two other torches have been heavier - that for the Innsbruck games in 1964 weighed 2.25 kilos (nearly 5lb) and the torch for the London games in 1948 weighed in at 2.15 kilos (4.74lb).

Francesco Lovo, head of the design team, said the torch had to be 'very robust' to cope with extremes of weather. 'We were working to specifications given to us by the Winter Olympics Committee,' he said. Committee members wanted to avoid problems afflicting the Athens 2004 torch, which weighed 770 grams (under 2lb), and was deemed too fragile.

Lovo denied a report in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero that the torch was dangerous because runners were forced to hold it too close to their bodies. 'It's a real flame, not a flashing light, so of course people have to be careful and hold it at a distance,' he said.

'Everything is a trade-off, but we felt it was important to have a torch that was safe, resistant to weather and strong enough to withstand human error, such as someone dropping it. There is no protocol about how it's carried. You can walk with it, run with it, hold it high or at waist level. It's up to the individual runners.'

The flame is a symbol of the Olympics, dating from the games held in Ancient Greece when athletes competed in a relay race using a torch. The modern custom of runners carrying a torch to the opening ceremony began at the 1936 Berlin Games.

尽管都灵冬奥会使用的火炬被公认为是设计灵感与现代技术的完美结合，但人们还是在它身上发现了一个小问题。很多已经参加过本届冬奥会火炬接力传递的人都表示，它实在是太重了。

据英国《观察家报》1月1日报道，这种铝制火炬的重量接近2公斤。传递者需要穿越意大利并将它送至开幕式现场，他们认为，要想长时间将火炬高高举起其实困难。

现年19岁的科斯塔斯·菲利皮迪斯是希腊撑杆跳高冠军，他说：“拿着这种火炬跑步可真是费劲”“我想，如果你将一只胳膊完全伸开高举火炬奔跑的话，那你甚至连100米也坚持不下来。而如果你将胳膊弯起来的话，那么火焰会非常靠近你的身体，这太危险了。”意大利前拳击冠军尼诺-本维努蒂说：“这种火炬确实有些重，你没办法拿着它跑来跑去”“为了一直拿住它，我只能不停地换手。”

做为奥运会的一种象征，火炬传递的历史可以追溯到古希腊时期，而运动员高举火炬跑进开幕式现场的做法则开始于1936年的柏林奥运会。本届冬奥会火炬传递活动将贯穿意大利全境，历时2个月。该火炬重达1.97公斤(4.3磅)，造型类似于滑雪板的顶端，是由位于都灵的著名的宾尼法利纳设计公司设计的。迄今为止，只有1964年奥地利因斯布鲁克冬奥会和1948年伦敦奥运会火炬的重量超过它。前者重2.25公斤，后者重2.15公斤。

然而，按照该火炬设计团队负责人弗朗切斯科-洛沃的说法，只有让它变得非常坚固，才能够在传递过程中经受住各种极端气候的考验。洛沃说：“我们是完全遵照本届冬奥会组委会制定的设计规范完成所有工作的。”组委会方面希望避免出现2004年雅典奥运会火炬传递过程中令人头疼不已的诸多问题，那次所用的火炬重量仅为770克，被认为太过脆弱。