|
Torch concludes bumpy tour of Bay Area |
 SAN FRANCISCO - Last-minute changes to the Olympic torch's route through the only North American city on its world tour helped it evade not only protesters, but also fans who lined up for hours waiting for a historic sight that never arrived. "I'm disappointed, annoyed, tired, frustrated," Sydney Sullivan, 18, said after unsuccessfully trying to chase the flame through the city. "I mean, it's not every day you get to see the Olympic torch."
With scuffles breaking out between human rights activists and pro-Chinese groups Wednesday, the relay was rerouted and shortened to prevent disruptions by massive crowds. The planned closing ceremony at the waterfront was canceled and moved to San Francisco International Airport. The flame was placed on a plane and was not displayed.
 International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge expressed relief that the San Francisco relay avoided the turmoil of the torch's previous stops in London and Paris, where demonstrators had tried to snuff out the flame.
"Fortunately, the situation was better ... in San Francisco," Rogge said at an Olympic meeting in Beijing. "It was, however, not the joyous party that we had wished it to be."
The torch's 85,000-mile, 20-nation global journey is the longest in Olympic history, and is meant to build excitement for the Beijing Games. But it has also been targeted by activists angered over China's human rights record, its rule of Tibet and its support for the governments of Myanmar and Sudan.
SOURCE- By JULIANA BARBASSA and MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press Writers |
Olympic News 
