VIDEO: Man tries (and fails) to dampen Olympic spirit with a fire extinguisher

A man in Brazil tried to dampen the Olympic spirit by spraying the Olympic torch with a fire extinguisher. The unidentified man failed and was put into a choke hold by security before the torch was handed off to the next carrier.

RELATED: Complete list of runners on Canada’s Olympic track team.

The man emerged from the roadside crowd with a fire extinguisher and sprayed it in the direction of the flame as the relay was passing through Joinville, Brazil. Though he sprayed the torch and the security guards, the flame did not go out.

His motivation remains unknown.

Full video

The Olympic torch relay is a ceremonial aspect in the leadup to each edition of the Games. The traditional relay begins in Athens, Greece and ends in the host city, in this case Rio. The flame symbolizes the spirit of competition. The torch relay is expected to arrive at the Olympic stadium on Aug. 5 during the opening ceremony.

RELATED: Usain Bolt running in Rio despite dropping out of Jamaica’s trials.

In late June, another person attempted to douse the Olympic flame by throwing a bucket-full of water towards the torch bearer. That too proved to be a failed attempt. The man, who was arrested, said it was a dare.

Video of the late June incident

Bruny Surin, a member of Canada’s 4x100m winning team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, showed he still has some relay skills by carrying the Olympic torch recently. Surin ran with the torch in Curitiba, Brazil on July 14. There is a backup Olympic torch in case anything happens to the primary flame.

.@BrunySurin knows something about relays. #TeamCanada Olympic champ in Curitiba, Brazil.#OlympicFlame #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/VHP8FmSrxx

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) July 14, 2016

Olympic torch bearers range from Olympic medallists to local community members.

RELATED: Lanni Marchant reacts after finding out she’s running two events in Rio.