2011 Pan American Games torch relay

The 2011 Pan American Games torch relay was a 50-day torch run, from August 26–October 14, 2011, held prior to the 2011 Pan American Games. Plans for the relay were originally announced July 6, 2011 by the Guadalajara Organizing Committee for the 2011 Pan American and Parapan American Games (COPAG).[1] The relay brought the torch from Mexico City to the Estadio Omnilife for the Opening Ceremony. The flame arrived just in time for the opening ceremony.[2]

Host city	Guadalajara, Mexico
Countries visited	Mexico
Distance	15,000 km
Torch bearers	3,500
Start date	August 26, 2011
End date	October 14, 2011

The relay took the torch through all 32 Mexican states on a 50-day route starting on August 26, 2011, at the pyramids of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City.[3] The Pan American flame was lit in the Pyramid of the Sun, the spot selected by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The relay was organized by the Mexican Olympic Committee and was sponsored by Grupo Omnilife, a nutrition company.[2][3] The first torch was carried by Pan American Games gold medalist Paola Longoria.[4] The relay began with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the 2011 Monterrey casino attack.[5] About 3,500 runners carried the torch on the 15,000-kilometer route. The torch arrived in Puerto Vallarta on October 9, Ciudad Guzmán on October 11, Tapalpa on October 12, Lagos de Moreno on October 13 and Guadalajara on October 14 for the opening ceremony at the Estadio Omnilife.[2]

The torch was designed by Vatti, the same company that designed the torch for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The design depicted green agave leaves with blue and white accents. The leaves surrounded and protected the flame. Each torch was 70 centimetres (28 in) tall and weighed 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), including the fuel canister, which contained enough fuel for 12 minutes.[3]

Route

Route
Day	Date	State	Cities	Notable torchbearers	# of torchbearers
1	August 26	Mexican Federal District	Teotihuacan (Torch lighting ceremony)	–	–
2	August 27		Mexico City (all 16 boroughs)	Paola Longoria – racquetballer Daniel Aceves – wrestler Noé Hernández, Carlos Mercenario – athlete (race walker) Jesús Mena, Fernando Platas – diver Marcelo Ebrard, Bernardo de la Garza – politicians Mario González – boxer Guillermo Pérez – taekwondoist[6]	240[6]
3	August 28	State of Mexico	Toluca	Antônio Naelson, Alfredo Talavera – footballer Ana Maria Torres – boxer María del Carmen Díaz, Fidel Negrete – athlete (marathon) Víctor Estrada – taekwondoist[7]	66[7]
4	August 29	Hidalgo	Pachuca	Nabor Castillo – judoka Jose Francisco Olvera Ruiz – Governor of Hidalgo Eligio Cervantes – triathlete[8]	73[8]
5	August 30	Tlaxcala	Papalotla, Xicohtzinco, Zacatelco, Tepeyanco and Tlaxcala	Braulio Ávila – boxer	96[9]
6	August 31	Puebla	Puebla	–	77[10]
7	September 1	Veracruz	Xalapa	Manuel Cortina – canoer Armando Fernández – wrestler[11]	67[12]
8	September 2	Not travelling
9	September 3	Tabasco	Villahermosa	–	72[13]
10	September 4	Campeche	Campeche	Melchor Cob Castro – boxer[14] Francisco Campos – baseball player[15] paz	61[14]
11	September 5	Yucatán	Mérida, Dzibilchaltún	Guty Espadas, Juan Herrera, Gilberto Keb Baas, José Pinzón – boxer Eduardo Avelino Magaña – archer Gerardo Torres – footballer Juan Jose Pacho – baseball player[16]	73[17]
12	September 6		Chichen Itza, Pisté	David Mier – sailor[18]	39[18]
13	September 7	Quintana Roo	Cancún	Alejandro Vela – footballer Ricardo Delgado, Rodolfo López – boxer Marco Martos – American football player Roberto Borge Angulo – Governor of Quintana Roo[19]	61[20]
14	September 8		Chetumal	Carolina Valencia – weightlifter[21]	57[21]
15	September 9	Not travelling
16	September 10	Chiapas	Chiapa de Corzo, Tuxtla Gutiérrez	–	52[22]
17	September 11	Not travelling
18	September 12	Oaxaca	Oaxaca	Bernardo Segura – athlete (race walker)[23]	57[23]
19	September 13	Guerrero	Acapulco	–	55[24]
20	September 14	Morelos	Cuernavaca	–	78[25]
21	September 15	Querétaro	Querétaro	–	71[26]
22	September 16	Not travelling
23	September 17	Michoacán	Morelia	Leonel Godoy Rangel – Governor of Michoacán Guillermo Pérez – taekwondoist Everardo Cristóbal – canoer[27]	70[27]
24	September 18	Guanajuato	León	Laura Sánchez – diver[28]	97[28]
25	September 19	Aguascalientes	Aguascalientes	Alfonso Zamora – boxer[29]	63[29]
26	September 20	Not travelling
27	September 21	San Luis Potosí	San Luis Potosí	Armando Quintanilla – athlete (5,000 + 10,000 meters)[30]	133[30]
28	September 22	Tamaulipas	Tampico, Ciudad Madero, Altamira	–	96[31]
29	September 23	Not travelling
30	September 24	Nuevo León	Monterrey	Daniel Bautista – athlete (race walker) Raúl Alcalá – cyclist Antonio Sancho – footballer[32]	68[32]
31	September 25	Coahuila	Saltillo	–	40[33]
32	September 26	Durango/Coahuila	Gómez Palacio, Lerdo, Torreón	Jared Borgetti – footballer Cristian Mijares – boxer Marco Antonio Rubio – boxer[34]	64[34]
33	September 27	Not travelling
34	September 28	Chihuahua	Chihuahua	Cristián Bejarano – boxer[35]	88[35]
35	September 29	Not travelling
36	September 30	Sonora	Hermosillo	Humberto Cota – baseball player Juan Pedro Toledo – athlete[36]	80[36]
37	October 1	Not travelling
38	October 2	Baja California	Tijuana	Erik Morales – boxer[37]	100[37]
39	October 3	Not travelling
40	October 4	Baja California Sur	La Paz	–	73[38]
41	October 5	Not travelling
42	October 6	Sinaloa	Mazatlán	–	97[39]
43	October 7	Nayarit	Tepic	–	49[39]
44	October 8	Jalisco	Puerto Vallarta	–	103[40]
45	October 9	Not travelling
46	October 10	Colima	Colima	–	68[41]
47	October 11	Jalisco	Ciudad Guzmán	–	75[42]
48	October 12		Tapalpa	–	17[43]
49	October 13		Amatitán, Lagos de Moreno	–	66[43]
50	October 14		Guadalajara, Tonalá, Tlaquepaque, Zapopan	Jashia Luna – diver Brenda Magaña – gymnast Dionicio Cerón – athlete (marathon) Javier Rosas – triathlete Jose Becerra – boxer[44]	185[44]

References

1. "Guadalajara desveló la antorcha a cien días de los Juegos Panamericanos". Que (in Spanish). July 6, 2011. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
2. "Pan Am Games Update June 2011". Focus on Mexico. May 30, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
3. COPAG (April 15, 2011). "Pan American Spirit to Light up Mexico". Guadalajara2011.org. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
4. "El fuego panamericano calienta la República". Informador.com.mx (in Spanish). August 28, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
5. "Somber Start to Pan Am Torch Relay". Around the Rings. August 29, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
6. "Viaje de Antorcha Panamericana empezará en DF". El Economista (in Spanish). August 22, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
7. "Recorre la Antorcha Panamericana la capital mexiquense". Informador.com.mx (in Spanish). August 28, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
8. "Otros Deportes". ¡Aplausos! (in Spanish). August 29, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
9. "Recibirá Tlaxcala antorcha de los Juegos Panamericanos". Diario Marca (in Spanish). August 29, 2011. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
10. "The Fire that Unites Makes History in Puebla". Guadalajara2011.org. August 31, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
11. "The Flame Started the Carnival in Xalapa". Guadalajara2011.org. September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
12. "Xalapa recibirá Antorcha Panamericana". Enestahora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2011-09-16.
13. Urbana, Zona (August 27, 2011). "Llegará al Musevi antorcha olímpica de Panamericanos el 3 de septiembre". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
14. "El Espíritu Panamericano atraviesa murallas". Guadalajara2011.org (in Spanish). Retrieved September 16, 2011.
15. "Pan American Torch greets the sea in Campeche". Road to 2012. September 4, 2011. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
16. "Mayan Night Receives Pan American Spirit". Guadalajara2011.org. September 5, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
17. "La antorcha panamericana pasará por Mérida". Azteca Deportes (in Spanish). April 24, 2011. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
18. "La flama en casa de Quetzalcóatl". Guadalajara2011.org (in Spanish). Retrieved September 16, 2011.
19. "Deportistas esperan llegada del fuego Panamericano a Cancún". Sipse (in Spanish). August 31, 2011. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
20. "The Pan American Flame turns Turquoise". Guadalajara2011.org. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
21. "La Cuna del Mestizaje adopta el Fuego que Une". Guadalajara2011.org. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
22. "Hoy recorrido de la Antorcha". Diario de Chiapas (in Spanish). September 10, 2011. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
23. "La Antorcha Panamericana tocó tierras oaxaqueñas". Medio tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved September 16, 2011.
24. "The Flame of Unity Visits Acapulco". Guadalajara2011.org. September 13, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
25. Becerril Ayala, Rolando (September 14, 2011). "Morelos está listo para recibir la Antorcha Panamericana". La Union (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
26. "Patriotic Celebrations with Pan American Spirt". Guadalajara2011.org. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
27. "La antorcha panamericana tocará Morelia el 17 de septiembre". Cambio de Michoacán (in Spanish). August 18, 2011. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
28. "León recibe al Fuego Panamericano". Terra (in Spanish). September 18, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
29. "Beauty Runs in Aguascalientes". Guadalajara2011.org. September 19, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
30. "San Luis Potosí saborea un poco de 'La Fiesta de América'". terra (in Spanish). September 21, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
31. "Antorcha estuvo en tres municipios de Tamaulipas". meido tiempo (in Spanish). September 22, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
32. "Nuevo León expone su tradición deportiva a toda América". terra (in Spanish). September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
33. "La Antorcha Panamericana pasa por ruta recreativa en Saltillo". terra (in Spanish). September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
34. "Borgetti portará el fuego panamericano". El Siglo de Torreon.com.mx (in Spanish). September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
35. "Mayúsculo Recibimiento!". Guadalajara2011.org (in Spanish). September 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
36. "Sonora is illuminated!". Guadalajara2011.org. October 1, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
37. "El Fuego Panamericano llega a la última frontera de México". Terra (in Spanish). October 2, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
38. "La Paz acompaña al Fuego Panamericano". terra (in Spanish). October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
39. "La Antorcha Panamericana recorre el puerto de Mazatlán". infomador.com.mx (in Spanish). October 6, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
40. "Puerto Vallarta Pan American Torch Relay Route Announced". Puerto Vallarta News. September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
41. "Colima Feels Pan American Torch Excitement". Guadalajara2011.org. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
42. "Fuego Panamericano en Ciudad Guzman". Enlineacontinua.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
43. "The Pan American torch encourages sportmanship in Tapalpa". Enlineacontinua.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
44. "Listos para recibir Antorcha". Guadalajara2011.org (in Spanish). Retrieved September 16, 2011.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)