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See also: 1996 Summer Paralympics
The Games of the XXVI Olympiad were held in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was selected
in 1990 above Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne and Toronto. Athens had hoped to organise the 100th
anniversary of the modern Olympic Games. The IOC's vote for Atlanta was therefore slightly
surprising, however the feeling was that Athens' infrastructure could
not be improved enough in time to successfully host the Games.
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 Induráin 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
References
Internal links
External links
Bibliography
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