What did Muhammad Ali do at the 1996 Olympics?

What did Muhammad Ali do at the 1996 Olympics?

July 19, 1996: Muhammad Ali holds the torch before lighting the Olympic Flame during the Opening Ceremony of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a moment that so many across the U.S. will never forget, especially Olympian Janet Evans.

Did Muhammad Ali ever carry the Olympic torch?

ATLANTA — It is a moment that Atlanta will never forget: boxing legend Muhammad Ali standing in front of the world, holding the Olympic torch proudly in the air, signaling the beginning of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. That moment happened on July 19, 1996, 25 years ago to the day.

How many people watched Muhammad Ali light the torch in 1996?

Instead this night, like so many in the history of sport before, belonged to Muhammad Ali – his appearance from the wings to light the Olympic cauldron drawing a collective gasp from the 80,000-plus crowd watching on.

Who lit the torch at the 1996 Olympics?

Twenty five years ago, the opening ceremony of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games held in Atlanta. The unforgettable, unexpected, gasp drawing moment, the great Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic caldron.

Who lit the 1996 Olympic flame?

Who lit the torch in 1996?

Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali takes the Olympic flame and helps light the torch at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

What is a 1996 Olympic torch worth?

around $1,500
It’s unclear what this replica torch from the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games would be worth, but torches used on the 1996 route have value, despite their abundance. About 17,000 torches were made, and today, they sell for around $1,500.

Why did Muhammad Ali threw his gold medal?

Ali said in his 1975 autobiography that shortly after his return from the Rome Olympics, he threw his gold medal into the Ohio River after he and a friend were refused service at a “whites-only” restaurant and fought with a white gang.