Atlanta’s Olympic cauldron to be relit for marathon trial

Georgia State University announced the Olympic cauldron will be lit just before noon on February 29 and it will remain lit until about 3:30 p.m.

The cauldron was lit by boxing great Muhammad Ali during the opening ceremonies in 1996. (File Photo)

The Olympic cauldron used in the 1996 Games in Atlanta was scheduled to be publicly lit for the first time in more than two decades on Saturday.

Georgia State University announced the cauldron will be lit just before noon on February 29, news outlets reported. The flame will remain lit until about 3:30 p.m. as an Olympic marathon trial course weaves through some of Atlanta’s most historic neighborhoods.

Saturday’s race was expected to determine who will represent the United States in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The cauldron was lit by boxing great Muhammad Ali during the opening ceremonies in 1996. It will be reignited Saturday by Georgia State’s athletics director, Charlie Cobb, the school said in a news release.