Waugh was selected from a list of famous Australian sporting personalities to light the cauldron at Homebush Bay on the first leg of a worldwide torch relay leading up to this year's Games in Athens.

Olympic 400 metre champion Cathy Freeman, who lit the cauldron to signal the start of the Sydney Games in 2000, will run the opening leg of the relay covering 33 cities in 34 days.

Sydney, as host of the last summer games, will be the first city to receive the flame. The torch will then move to Melbourne, host of the 1956 Olympics, before leaving Australia for Asia.

The relay run ends in Athens on August 13 with the opening ceremony for the 2004 Games.

The torch will pass through 141 pairs of hands in Sydney and will visit the city's most famous landmarks including the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach and the Olympic Stadium.

The list of bearers includes former swimming champions Susie O'Neill and Kieren Perkins and Australia's first winter Olympic gold medallist, Steven Bradbury, who will carry the torch on rollerblades.