Route changes, scuffles mark Olympic torch relay

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Heavy security surrounded runners taking part in the controversial Olympic torch relay in San Francisco Wednesday, as the threat of violent protests prompted officials to make dramatic last-minute changes.

Plans to hold a waterfront closing ceremony were abruptly canceled.

Thousands of people who had gathered at Justin Herman Park to watch, to support China or to protest China's record on human rights and its crackdown in Tibet began leaving the site.

The announcement came during a day in which the torch's trek through the city was shortened and its path altered to try to minimize the chances that protesters would mar the event.

Anti-Chinese protesters and Beijing supporters lined the streets along the planned route hours ahead of the start of the relay.

The torch was lit in a short ceremony at AT&T Park in front of hundreds of pro-Chinese supporters who waved Chinese, American and Olympic flags. VideoWatch the lighting ceremony »

But from the park, the runners, accompanied by Chinese security forces, went into a security warehouse and the torch disappeared from public view for about 45 minutes.

Vehicles were later seen leaving the building.

The torch was driven to a nearby neighborhood, where the runners began the relay.

There was "a disproportionate concentration of people in and around the start of the relay," Mayor Gavin Newsom told The Associated Press.

Dozens of police and security team members flanked the runners and took "very decisive" action when protesters tried to get close to the torch, CNN's Thelma Gutierrez reported.

There were several scuffles between police and demonstrators along the route. One torchbearer also got into trouble by displaying a Tibetan flag.

"The Chinese security and cops were on me like white on rice, it was no joke," Majora Carter told the AP. "They pulled me out of the race, and then San Francisco police officers pushed me back into the crowd on the side of the street."

Activists were in town from both camps: People who believe the Olympics should not be held in China and those who support the event. VideoWatch a Chinese torchbearer train and tell why she's running »

The only U.S. stop for the torch relay was San Francisco, where it wrapped up the first week of a 23-city international tour.

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