1996 Summer Paralympics torch relay

Unlike the 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay, which had been conveyed part of the way by motor vehicles and trains, organizers described the Paralympic torch as being moved by "people power only". This included runners on foot and in wheelchairs, cyclists, as well as horseback riders, water-skiiers, kayakers, and a rider on a specialized lawn mower.^[1]

Relay

Washington, D.C.

Richmond

South Boston

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Route in Virginia

The relay began in Atlanta on the morning of August 5.

The flame was then flown to Washington, D.C., for a ceremony at the White House on the morning of August 6, where President Bill Clinton spoke before the lighting of the first torch.^[3][4] The flame was then run down the National Mall to the United States Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial before crossing out of the District to Arlington National Cemetery.^[5]

Proceeding southward from Washington, the torch passed through Woodbridge, Virginia^[6] and ended its first day in Richmond.^[7] On August 7, the flame was carried from Richmond to South Boston.^[8][9]

Greensboro

Charlotte

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Route in North Carolina

Crossing into North Carolina, the torch stopped for a mid-day celebration in Durham^[10] before leaving for Burlington^[11] and spending the night of August 8 in Greensboro.^[12][13] The next day, the relay passed through Kernersville on its way to a morning celebration in Winston-Salem, then traveled through Clemmons, Cooleemee, Mooresville, Davidson, Cornelius, and Huntersville before stopping for the evening in Charlotte.^[14] Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory was among those who carried the torch in the city.^[11]

Anderson

Greenville

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Route in South Carolina

On August 10, the flame left Charlotte, passing through Belmont, Gastonia,^[15] and Kings Mountain before leaving the state at Grover.^[11] In South Carolina, the torch was carried through Blacksburg, Gaffney, and Cowpens^[16] on its way to a mid-day celebration in Spartanburg.^[11][17]

The torch was originally scheduled to stop in Greenville, South Carolina, on the evening of August 10.^[18] However, this plan was canceled after the Greenville County Council passed a resolution condemning homosexuality.^[19] The Olympic torch relay had similarly shunned Greenville after the resolution was passed, driving the flame through the county, shielded from view, before entering and after leaving Greenville city limits. The Paralympic torch relay organizers went further, bypassing Greenville entirely by traveling southward from Spartanburg to Switzer, Enoree, and Laurens, before turning west toward Hickory Tavern, Princeton, Honea Path, and Belton, and stopping for the day in Anderson.^[16] This made August 10 by far the longest day of the relay in terms of distance traveled, with a total length of 147 miles.^[20]