When the Paralympics torch came through Athens

(Photo by Dink NeSmith)

By Doug Hatch

The 1996 Paralympic Torch arrived in Athens 30 years ago on August 12 on its way to Atlanta to light the cauldron opening the tenth Paralympics Games. Almost 1,800 people gathered at the Classic Center welcoming its arrival. The relay was significantly delayed when the torch accidently fell into the water while crossing Lake Hartwell. An emergency flame was available, another torch was lit, and the relay continued. People, many with families, patiently waited almost two hours for the torch to arrive. The Torch spent the night in Athens and the next morning continued its journey to Atlanta for the opening of the Paralympic Games. Over 3,500 athletes representing over 120 nations competed during the 10 days of the Games.

The day after the close of the Atlanta Olympic games, the Paralympic flame was lit by the Eternal Flame marking the grave of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, acknowledging the close kinship between the civil rights and disability rights movements. The Paralympic Flame was then flown from Atlanta to Washington, D. C. and lit the first Paralympic Torch beginning the first Paralympic Torch Relay held in the United States and, at that time, the longest - covering 1,000 miles. The flame passed torch to torch, “people power only”, through the hands of 1,001 torchbearers intentionally included individuals with and without disabilities, runners, walkers, wheelchair users, people on horseback, water skies, bicycles, and even an adapted lawnmower. Forty-nine residents of Athens carried the Torch during the relay.