05/16/2026
Do you remember... the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay?
Prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA, the torch was carried on Rainbow Boulevard during the Olympic Torch Relay. The overall route covered 16,699 miles from April 27, 1996-July 19, 1996. It passed by Our Saviour Lutheran Church during the afternoon on Thursday, May 16, 1996 (day 20 of the relay). Members and friends of our congregation gathered at the church to witness history and cheer the runners along Rainbow Boulevard. The torch runner was joined by official trucks, highway patrol and police cars, and police motorcycles. Reports say that there was a parade of vehicles that lasted nearly 30 minutes.
During the full relay, the torch was carried by 12,467 people, including: 2,000 former Olympians and others linked to the Olympic Games; 5,500 people who had been nominated locally, across the U.S., as “community heroes”’ and 2,500 people picked in random drawings.
On May 16, 1996, the torch arrived in St. Joseph, MO at about 7:30am, completing a 544-mile leg of the relay by riders of the National Pony Express Association. Their route covered four states and, like the Pony Express riders of 1860-61, they traveled day and night to deliver the torch – riding and relaying for over 56 continuous hours. The torch runner was met by a crowd at Barney Allis Plaza in downtown Kansas City, MO. The relay paused for 30 minutes during a lunchtime jazz and food festival. After the ceremony, the next runner headed out of downtown, departing on schedule at 1:12pm. The route continued across the river to Kansas City, KS and then through the Kansas suburbs to Johnson County Community College.
