CARROLLTON, Ga. — The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are less than a month away, and as the Olympic flame moves through Lille in France, a Carroll County woman is taking a trip down memory lane to reminisce on the part she played to keep the torch moving through the United States.
"I always kept the Olympics on the TV day and night," 84-year-old Sandy Parker said. "And this was just a lifetime excitement."
The year was 1996, and Atlanta was set to host the Olympic Games. More than 1,800 miles away in Utah, Parker received word that she would take on a unique role, which would require some training.
"I started running through the neighborhood," Parker said. "This is the true story, with a baseball bat, holding it up high, you know, to get the feel. My neighbors were a little bit astonished."
The reason behind it was because Parker was tapped to be one of the more than 12,000 runners for the Olympic torch relay across American soil. Among the athletes, Parker was chosen as a "community hero," nominated by her son for her work caring for foster babies.
"I felt I could jump over the moon," she remembered. "I was so thrilled."
Reminiscing with her daughter Susan, the excitement of the relay quickly returned as Parker looked through her photo album. Now a resident of Brookdale Senior Living Solutions in Carrollton, she keeps her torch in her spare room.
It's a piece of Olympic legacy that has traveled with her through the years.
"I felt this was just a wonderful, wonderful thing," she said. "This part of running the torch and getting it a little closer to Atlanta."
With the games once again around the corner, she dons her runner's T-shirt, and she anticipates the competitions ahead -- particularly gymnastics.
The Brookdale community will also hold its own opening ceremony celebration, which Parker will lead with her torch.
Meanwhile, the memories of '96 remain strong.
"I'm very proud," she continued, "I'm thrilled I had a chance to run it in my community."