Evans ended her swimming career , for all practical purposes , at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta , Georgia . She did not win any medals , but she did add one more highlight to her life . She was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch in the opening ceremony , and she handed the torch to the American boxing legend Muhammad Ali to light the cauldron . On July 27 , 1996 , she was in a building being interviewed by a German newsman when a bomb exploded nearby . The explosion very lightly shook the building and startled Evans
a bomb
Centennial Olympic Park bombing
Janet Evans