This article originally appeared in The New York Times on July 21, 1996.
ATLANTA— Muhammad Ali floats above the Summer Games, no longer an elusive butterfly but a great glowing icon as large as a spaceship. He casts his light on every athlete, every spectator, every volunteer, all the people who walk these humid streets with just a little more zip in their step, now that they have seen Ali.
The whole world gasped in shock early yesterday when Ali suddenly materialized on that platform at the far end of Olympic Stadium, the perfect choice to light the caldron.