Who Will Light Torch For 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games?

KSL OLYMPICS

Aug 12, 2024, 11:41 AM

Guard Earvin (Magic) Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers moves the ball during a game.

(Magic)

BY JEREMY MAUSS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY – The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are officially closed. They have been a massive success with these Games being removed from the COVID-19 pandemic that hurt the Tokyo Summer Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with strict restrictions on athletes and spectators.

The stadiums were packed with fans, millions upon millions watched from home and Team USA won the overall medal count.

Now the attention turns to the handoff for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games. This will be the first time the United States will have hosted the Summer Games since the 1996 Atlanta edition.

There are two huge honors for Olympians pre- and post-Games. Those are being flag-bearers for the Opening and Closing Ceremony, and arguably the biggest honor is to be the one that gets to light the torch.

For the USA, it was LeBron James in the opening ceremonies to hoist the flag.

In the closing ceremonies, it was distance swimmer and now nine-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky and rower Nick Mead who helped the United States win gold in the men’s four-boat final for the first time in 64 years.

It takes some serious star power to earn the honor of lighting the torch and for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the choice was to have Muhammad Ali officially get the Olympics underway.

Ali won the gold medal in boxing at the 1960 Rome Olympics and is considered the best heavyweight boxer of all time.

Ali had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, so seeing him light the torch was a very special moment.

Moving toward 2028 with the Los Angeles Olympics, it is best to perhaps look at the past to see who could earn this massive honor in four years. The biggest stars from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics should be considered and it is Hollywood so getting a splashy name should be in consideration.

KSL Sports Zones’ JJ & Alex have thoughts about who should light the torch.

Alex Kirry’s choice goes to one of the greatest assemblies of talent ever seen at the Olympic Games.

“It ​will ​be ​Team ​USA ​1992. ​The ​Dream ​Team,” Kirry said. “I think Dream Team should be it, it will be 36 years.”

However, Jeremiah Jensen shuts that down and goes with Carl Lewis who was a huge star during the last games in Los Angeles back in 1984.

“Carl ​Lewis. ​So, ​one ​of ​the ​great ​things ​about ​the ​Olympics ​is ​the ​tradition ​in ​the ​past,” Jensen said. “​So ​you ​always ​want ​to ​pay ​nod ​and ​homage ​to ​those ​that came ​before ​and then ​bring ​it to the present day. ​

“So ​what ​better ​to ​do ​in ​a ​games ​in ​laden ​than ​to ​go ​back ​to ​the ​biggest ​star ​of ​the ​1984 ​Los ​Angeles ​Olympics? ​It makes ​perfect ​sense ​to ​have ​Carl ​Lewis light ​the ​torch.”

They both agree that star power is a must-have. Others options include Magic Johnson, Serena Williams, or Michael Phelps. Jensen also mentioned the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games which saw the 1980 United States “Miracle on ice” hockey team that won gold at Lake Placid to light the torch.

KSL-TV’s Sam Farnsworth joined the show live from Paris and gave two possible names.

“I’d ​throw ​out ​another ​name, Mary ​Lou ​Retton, ​right?” Farnsworth asked. “​She ​was ​the ​first ​American ​woman ​to ​win ​the all-around gold ​in ​’84. ​She ​was ​a ​superstar ​after ​that. ​I ​still ​remember ​her ​on ​my ​Wheaties box and she was in every single commercial.

“Her and Carl Lewis, you do it together,” he added. “To me, ​those ​are ​the ​two ​faces ​of ​the ​’84 ​games. ​​You ​bring ​them ​back ​to ​L.A. ​again ​for ​the ​’28 torch ​lighting ​and, ​and ​get ​the ​two ​of ​them ​to ​do ​it.”

Carl Lewis

Lewis was part of the 1984 Olympic Games and it jump-started his track and field career. He won four gold medals by winning the long jump, 100 meters, 200 meters, and was part of the 4 x 100 meters relay team.

Lewis went on to compete in four total Olympics with nine gold medals and a silver medal. Four of those golds came in the long jump.

Mary Lou Retton

Another breakout star from those ’84 games was gymnast Mary Lou Retton. She won five medals in Los Angeles including winning gold in the women’s all-around. That win was the first ever from a country outside of Eastern Europe. Retton secured gold by scoring perfect 10s on both the floor exercise and the vault.

40 Years Ago Today: Mary Lou Retton, Perfect 10 in Los Angeles.

The height of Olympic glory.pic.twitter.com/TNKSBwXLDB

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 3, 2024

Lou Retton also graced the cover of the Wheaties box. The one thing that could hinder her from lighting the torch is her health issues as she suffered a rare form of pneumonia, has scarred lungs, and currently requires daily oxygen as she is still recovering.

Magic Johnson/1992 Dream Team Members

When star power is needed, one of the biggest names in Los Angeles is Magic Johnson. Not only was he a Los Angeles Laker with five NBA championships, but he was on the 1992 Dream team. That ’92 squad for the Barcelona Summer Games was the first time professional athletes could compete in the Olympics.

The 1988 squad took bronze, so the 1992 team wanted revenge and it was stacked with the best of the best from the NBA while easily taking the gold medal.

This could be a combination of players from that team when lighting the cauldron. Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing not only were on the 1992 team but also on the 1984 Olympic team that won gold in Los Angeles.

Serena Williams

Williams is another accomplished athlete within and outside the Olympics. She has four gold medals to her name with a trio in doubles and one singles title at the 2012 London Games. Her career on the WTA is beyond impressive with 23 major tournament wins, another 14 in women’s doubles titles, and two more in mixed doubles.

Michael Phelps

Phelps is arguably the most distinguished U.S. Olympian of all-time with the best single-game performance ever at the 2008 Beijing Games with eight gold medals. That number surpassed swimmer Mark Spitz who earned seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Phelps also set an Olympic record and seven world records in 2008.

Overall, he has 28 Olympic medals and 23 of them are gold.

Katie Ledecky

Ledecky could be one of a few current Olympians to light the torch. She is 27 years old which is a little on the older side of swimming and would be 31 for Los Angeles. She has nine gold medals in swimming and has the most ever for a female swimmer.

Ledecky’s current plan is to aim for Los Angeles and will try to become just the second Olympic athlete ever to win five straight gold medals in a single event – the other being Cuban wrestler Mijain Lopez who took another gold in Paris.

She was one of the flag bearers for the closing ceremonies in Paris, so her star is bright among even the Olympians for Team USA.

LeBron James

This goes into the star power category for Los Angeles. James is a three-time gold medalist. He very likely end his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers while being considered up there with Michael Jordan as the best to ever play basketball.

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