1996 Summer Olympics

It was regarded by some as one of the least successful of the modern games. The problem of traffic congestion sometimes made travel between venues difficult. There were complaints at how omnipresent the advertising was, with Coca-Cola especially being marketed on every available surface. Also during the games, the Centennial Olympic Park bombing took place on July 27, 1996 killing Alice Hawthorne and wounding 111 others, and causing the death of Melih Uzunyol by heart attack. In his closing speech, Juan Antonio Samaranch, head of the IOC, for the first time did not describe the games as being the "best ever".

Games of the XXVI Olympiad
Nations participating	197
Athletes participating	10,320 (6,797 men, 3,523 women)
Events	271 in 26 sports
Opening ceremonies	July 19, 1996
Closing ceremonies	August 4, 1996
Officially opened by	President Bill Clinton
Athlete's Oath	Teresa Edwards
Judge's Oath:	Hobie Billingsly
Olympic Torch	Muhammad Ali

Highlights

(to be expanded to a day-by-day article)

• Slovene gymnast Leon Štukelj arises at the open ceremony as one of the oldest living sportsmen in the world.
• Naim Suleymanoglu becomes the first weightlifter to win three gold medals.
• Michael Johnson wins gold in both the 200 m and 400 m, setting an amazing new World Record of 19.32 seconds in the 200 m.
• Donovan Bailey of Canada wins the men's 100m.
• Marie-José Perec equals Johnson's performance, also winning the rare 200 m/400 m double.
• Softball, beach volleyball and mountainbiking debut on the Olympic programme, together with women's football (soccer) and lightweight rowing.
• Cycling professionals were admitted to the Olympics, with five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Induraín winning the inaugural individual time trial event.
• Michelle Smith of Ireland wins three gold medals and a bronze, but her victories are overshadowed by doping allegations, which are later reinforced as she is banned after failing a test in 1999.
• Amy Van Dyken wins four gold medals in the Olympic swimming pool, the first American woman to win four titles in a single Olympics.
• A record 197 nations, all current IOC member nations, take part, with a record 79 of them winning at least one medal.
• Five athletes were disqualified for using banned drugs. A few more were reinstated since the drug they took had been declared illegal only a week before the Olympics.
• Kerri Strug becomes an American heroine after bringing victory to the American female gymnastics team in spite of having to perform with an injury in the final event.

Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

• Archery
• Athletics
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Badminton
• Boxing
• Canoeing
• Cycling
• Diving
• Equestrianism
• Fencing
• Football
• Gymnastics
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Modern Pentathlon
• Rowing
• Shooting
• Soccer (football)
• Softball
• Swimming
• Synchronized Swimming
• Table Tennis
• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Water Polo
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling
• Yachting

Medal count

Pos	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	United States	44	32	25	101
2	Russia	26	21	16	63
3	Germany	20	18	27	65
4	China	16	22	12	50
5	France	15	7	15	37
6	Italy	13	10	12	35
7	Australia	9	9	23	41
8	Cuba	9	8	8	25
9	Ukraine	9	2	12	23
10	South Korea	7	15	5	27
11	Poland	7	5	5	17
12	Hungary	7	4	10	21
13	Spain	5	6	6	17
14	Romania	4	7	9	20
15	Netherlands	4	5	10	19
16	Greece	4	4	0	8
17	Czech Republic	4	3	4	11
18	Switzerland	4	3	0	7
19	Denmark	4	1	1	6
19	Turkey	4	1	1	6
21	Canada	3	11	8	22
22	Bulgaria	3	7	5	15
23	Japan	3	6	5	14
24	Kazakhstan	3	4	4	11
25	Brazil	3	3	9	15
26	New Zealand	3	2	1	6
27	South Africa	3	1	1	5
28	Ireland	3	0	1	4
29	Sweden	2	4	2	8
30	Norway	2	2	3	7
31	Belgium	2	2	2	6
32	Nigeria	2	1	3	6
33	North Korea	2	1	2	5
34	Algeria	2	0	1	3
34	Ethiopia	2	0	1	3
36	United Kingdom	1	8	6	15
37	Belarus	1	6	8	15
38	Kenya	1	4	3	8
39	Jamaica	1	3	2	6
40	Finland	1	2	1	4
41	Indonesia	1	1	2	4
41	Yugoslavia	1	1	2	4
43	Iran	1	1	1	3
43	Slovakia	1	1	1	3
45	Armenia	1	1	0	2
45	Croatia	1	1	0	2
47	Portugal	1	0	1	2
47	Thailand	1	0	1	2
49	Burundi	1	0	0	1
49	Costa Rica	1	0	0	1
49	Ecuador	1	0	0	1
49	Hong Kong	1	0	0	1
49	Syria	1	0	0	1
54	Argentina	0	2	1	3
55	Namibia	0	2	0	2
55	Slovenia	0	2	0	2
57	Austria	0	1	2	3
58	Malaysia	0	1	1	2
58	Moldova	0	1	1	2
58	Uzbekistan	0	1	1	2
61	Azerbaijan	0	1	0	1
61	Bahrain	0	1	0	1
61	Latvia	0	1	0	1
61	Philippines	0	1	0	1
61	Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)]]	0	1	0	1
61	Tonga	0	1	0	1
61	Zambia	0	1	0	1
68	Georgia	0	0	2	2
68	Morocco	0	0	2	2
68	Trinidad and Tobago	0	0	2	2
71	India	0	0	1	1
71	Israel	0	0	1	1
71	Lithuania	0	0	1	1
71	Mexico	0	0	1	1
71	Mongolia	0	0	1	1
71	Mozambique	0	0	1	1
71	Puerto Rico	0	0	1	1
71	Tunisia	0	0	1	1
71	Uganda	0	0	1	1

References

Internal links

• Olympic Games
• Summer Olympic Games
• International Olympic Committee
• WikiProject Sports Olympics
• IOC country codes

External links

• IOC Site on 1996 Summer Olympics

Bibliography

1896 | 1900 | 1904 | 1906 | 1908 | 1912 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012

Winter Olympics

1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010

Referenced By