Foul weather generated by hurricane Jova was no deterrent for Chapala’s October 12 celebration of the arrival of the Pan American Games torch.
Throngs of spectators cracked out umbrellas and rain slickers to withstand a steady drizzle as the relay snaked through the municipality, keeping right on target with the five-hour schedule.
Seventy-seven torch bearers had been selected to lead the event, among them 29 outstanding local athletes, sports promoters and distinguished citizens proposed by the Municipal Sports Commission (Comude). The rest received their assignments from the Games Organizing Committee and corporate sponsors.
The relay headed out from the rain-splashed plaza in Atotonilquillo shortly after 10 a.m. with Chapala native son Alberto Arrayga at the front of the first contingent of joggers. An accomplished distance runner who has racked up an impressive record in his short athletic career, Arrayga earned the lead slot by capturing top honors for best overall time in the 10-kilometer “Rumbo a los Panamericanos” race held in Guadalajara last August.
Chapala Mayor Jesus Cabrera led the team of local equestrians, who carried the flame over seven kilometers of the unpaved back road leading to the plaza at San Nicolas de Ibarra.
Following a cycling leg along the Chapala-Mezcala highway – with a detour on foot through Santa Cruz de la Soledad – the relay arrived at the outskirts of Chapala. There the torch was handed off to U.S. expatriate resident David Bolick, who gained a runner’s slot after filing an online application several months ago.
Other joggers continued the run from the old railway station to the Chapala water front. Despite warnings that the relay segment via boat might be cancelled due to poor weather conditions, Chapala Harbormaster Luis Jorge Ochoa gave torchbearers a last-minute thumbs up to board a tourist launch and set off through choppy waters, flanked by the port captain’s speed boat and two more vessels carrying the press corps.
After landing at Club Nautico in La Floresta, the torch was exchanged among three dozen more runners as the relay wound through central Ajijic and San Antonio Tlayacapan, along the highway into Chapala and a final loop through the downtown area.
At 3:15 p.m. the relay reached the main intersection, where the torch was handed over to Paulo Ramon Gomez, a wheelchair-bound victim of cerebral palsy who took charge for the final leg to the Pescadores fountain. Assistants lifted the chair onto the stage and helped Gomez to his feet to deliver the torch to the mayor. As a large crowd of soggy on-lookers cheered, Cabrera brought the relay to a festive close by igniting the Pan American flame in a large metal cauldron.
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