HANOVER, Ont. — A woman carrying the Olympic torch was knocked down by a protester Monday morning during the Olympic Torch Run in Guelph, Ont.

Brittney Simpson, 19, from Kitchener, Ont., was arrested and has been charged with assault, according to Guelph Police Service. She is scheduled appear in court in February.

Simpson allegedly knocked the torch bearer to the ground at about 7:50 a.m. Monday morning.

A crowd of demonstrators appeared and disrupted the relay but the torch remained lit, police said. The torch bearer got back up and continued that leg of the relay.

Cortney Hansen, 28, from Milton, Ont., was treated at the scene for her injuries by Olympic Torch Run medical staff.

Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee said the disruption was an "isolated incident" and was responded to "rapidly and appropriately" by the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit and the RCMP. The two groups are responsible for the safety and security of the torchbearer and the escort team.

"It is unfortunate that this torchbearer's once-in-a-lifetime experience with the Olympic Flame was disrupted in this manner," said torch relay director Jim Richards.

"We understand that the Olympic Games are a high profile event and will attract attention and that people have the right to express their opinions," he said. "We ask that they do so peacefully and respectfully."

The incident occurred in front of about 1000 children and parents who attended the festivities, police said in a release.

Simpson is part of an anti-racism protest group known as AW@L, gathered to protest the flame passing over native land and the continued prevalence of poverty in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, according to fellow member Alex Hundert.

Hundert said the protest was meant to be peaceful and was escalated by police.

"The RCMP people kind of freaked out and basically caused the person with the torch to stutter-step and then trip," he said. "And then things got much worse, because as that person went down, they basically (started) . . . what sounds like a minor attack on the protesters.

"Basically, the relay team caused a disaster and the police decided they needed to arrest somebody."

A local reporter said it appeared the woman fell after bumping into a police officer.

"The 28-year-old Milton woman hit the ground hard . . . , seemingly tripping over the leg of a police officer who was struggling with protesters trying to interrupt Hansen's Olympic moment in downtown Guelph," Tony Saxon of the Guelph Mercury wrote.

There have been protests throughout the torch relay, mainly peaceful.

The relay route was altered Dec. 21 as the torch made its way through the Six Nations community in Grand River, Ont. The move was a response to anticipated conflict with protesters.

One of the protesters gathered outside a news conference that day said she was protesting the Olympics as a call to fair treatment of aboriginal people in Canada.

The torch was briefly delayed in Toronto Dec. 17 when hundreds of protesters filled the streets shouting, "No Olympics on stolen native land!"

Several groups in Victoria caused disturbances early in the torch's national relay. Though that protest began peacefully in late October, it grew to a parade of around 200 people who effectively blocked the route and cut 10 torchbearers out of the relay.

One protester that said there is concern about the amount of money being spent on the games when budgets for health and education are being stretched.

The torch otherwise remained on schedule Monday; the snowy conditions through central Ontario didn't slow Day 60 of the relay as it passed through Erin, Orangeville, Hanover and Walkerton.

"Don't drink the water there." That's the tired phrase Colin Wells heard when he told people where he would be carrying the Olympic flame during his portion of the relay.

Walkerton is perhaps best known for the E. coli tragedy from nearly a decade ago, where contaminated water resulted in seven deaths and widespread illness.

With supporters carrying flags and homemade Olympic rings lined the streets, cheering in support of the torch, Wells said he hopes being touched by the flame will remove some of the town's negative stigma.

"That's getting old. I really hope it brings some positivity to the town. It's such a nice town — we get the best sausage at our local place."

As the 39-year-old London, Ont., resident carried the torch over a bridge and into the town, snow blustered around him and coated his glasses. The wintry conditions didn't put out his flame — although a torchbearer later in the relay in Walkerton wasn't as lucky, as her flame had to be re-ignited twice.

Wells was joined by his wife and 17-year-old son, as well as his father, who was dressed in his original red and white torchbearer suit, with the words "Calgary '88" printed on his back.

Both Wells and his father had carried the torch in the 1988 Calgary Olympic torch relay, after Wells filled out countless applications for both of them until they were both chosen and passed the torch off between them.

Wells said he believes in the spirit of the Olympics, and doesn't understand why the flame encounters protesters along its route.

"It's horrible," he said. "We had an aboriginal girl on our leg of the relay and she didn't have a problem with the Olympics. I don't understand it."

The torch's trek began Oct. 30 in Victoria. It will make an appearance in 1,000 communities before Feb. 12, when it reaches its final destination of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.