Everything about The 1996 Summer Olympics totally explained
The
1996 Summer Olympics, formally known as the
Games of the XXVI Olympiad and informally known as the
Centennial Olympics, were celebrated in 1996 in
Atlanta, Georgia,
United States. Atlanta was selected in
September 1990 in
Tokyo,
Japan, above
Athens,
Belgrade,
Manchester,
Melbourne and
Toronto.
Selection
Some felt Athens should have had the right to host the games because it marked the 100th anniversary of the modern
Olympic games. The
IOC instead voted, in 1990, for Atlanta, predicting that Athens'
infrastructure couldn't be improved enough in time to successfully host the Games.
Athens would eventually win the right to host the
2004 Summer Olympics.
Effect on the city
The games had a profound impact on the city of
Atlanta and many in the Atlanta metro area consider the Games to be instrumental in transforming Atlanta into the modernized city it has become. One example of this modernization is the mid-rise dormitories built for the Olympic Village. One of these complexes became the first residential housing for
Georgia State University, and has recently been transferred for use by the
Georgia Institute of Technology. Other examples include
Turner Field, which was a modification of the original
Centennial Olympic Stadium, and where the
Atlanta Braves baseball team now makes its home.
Centennial Olympic Park was also built for the events and is still in use.
Atlanta used no public money to finance the Games, which cost
US$1.8 billion to host. It was the first city in Olympic history to use ticket sales, commercial endorsements, advertising, and private money alone to fund the hosting of the Olympics. The consequence of this, however, was that some felt that the Games in Atlanta were over-commercialized and were less exciting than previous Games.
Incidents
Although the Games made a financial profit, they were not without problems. Allegations were levelled that Atlanta organizers bribed members of the IOC to obtain the Olympic Games. However, ACOG documents were destroyed before a formal inquiry could be conducted, and the allegations remain unproven. In his defense, ACOG Chairman
Billy Payne said, "Atlanta's bidding effort included excessive actions, even thought processes, that today seem inappropriate but, at the time, reflected the prevailing practices in the selection process and an extremely competitive environment."
Problems of traffic congestion sometimes made travel between venues difficult. More seriously, the
Centennial Olympic Park bombing of
July 27 1996, killed spectator Alice Hawthorne and wounded 11 others, and elicited the death of Melih Uzunyol by heart attack.
Aside from the problems,
IOC President
Juan Antonio Samaranch said in his closing speech, "Well done, Atlanta" and called the Games the "most exceptional". He broke precedent and didn't say they'd been the best Olympics ever, as he did at every previous Olympic closing ceremony while he was IOC president. This was likely an intentional omission given some of the issues like the Games' over-commercialism, technology and transportation issues. The City of Atlanta was also found to have been competing with the IOC for advertising and sponsorship dollars. The city was licensing street vendors who would sell certain products over others, and therefore providing a presence for companies who were not the official sponsors of the Games. Four years later Samaranch called the 2000 Sydney Olympics the best ever.
Songs and themes
The Olympiad's official theme,
Summon the Heroes, was written by
John Williams, making it the third Olympiad for which he's composed. The song "
The Power of the Dream", composed by
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and
David Foster, with words by
Linda Thompson was performed in the opening ceremony by
Céline Dion accompanied by Foster and the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Centennial Choir.
Gladys Knight sang "
Georgia on My Mind", Georgia's official
state song, at the opening ceremony. The closing ceremony featured
Gloria Estefan singing "Reach", the official theme song of the 1996 Olympics. At the closing of the ceremony
Trisha Yearwood performed the Olympics song ["TheFlame"]
Mascot
The
mascot for the Olympiad was an abstract, animated character named
Izzy. In contrast to the standing tradition of mascots of national or regional significance in the city hosting the Olympiad, Izzy was an amorphous, computer-designed fantasy figure. The mascot was popularly ridiculed by the public and press as commercialized, unappealing, and ungrounded in any connection to the region.
Highlights
- Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic torch during the opening ceremonies of the games and received a replacement gold medal from the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Slovene gymnast Leon Štukelj arises at the opening ceremony as one of the oldest living sportsmen in the world (age 97)
- Naim Süleymanoğlu becomes the first weightlifter to win three gold medals.
- Michael Johnson wins gold in both the 200 m and 400 m, setting a new world record of 19.32 seconds in the 200 m.
- Donovan Bailey of Canada wins the men's 100 m, setting a new world record of 9.84 seconds at that time.
- Marie-José Perec equals Johnson's performance, although without a world record, by winning the rare 200 m/400 m double.
- At the age of 35, Carl Lewis takes his 4th long jump gold medal. Lewis, Paavo Nurmi and Mark Spitz now share the record for most Olympic gold medals (9).
- Softball, beach volleyball and mountain biking debut on the Olympic program, together with women's soccer/football and lightweight rowing.
- Palestine was allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
- Cycling professionals were admitted to the Olympics, with five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain winning the inaugural individual time trial event.
- Michelle Smith of Ireland wins three gold medals and a bronze in swimming, but her victories are overshadowed by doping allegations. She passed all tests however.
- 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.
- Andre Agassi wins the gold medal in the tennis event. This helps him become the first male player to ever win the career Golden Slam.
- Kurt Angle of the United States won the gold medal in 100 kg (220 lb) freestyle wrestling while suffering from a fractured neck.
- Deng Yaping of China wins two gold medals in Women singles and doubles of table tennis. She is also the winner of these two titles in 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
- For the first time Olympic medals were won by the athletes from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burundi, Ecuador, Georgia, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mozambique, Slovakia, Tonga, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
- Lee Lai Shan won a gold medal in sailing, the first and only gold medal that Hong Kong has ever won. It was also the first and last time Hong Kong won a medal as a British colony.
- The US Women's Soccer team won the Gold Medal in the first ever Women's Soccer Event.
- Xeno Muller won gold for the Men's single scull event (rowing) in his first Olympic appearance. His time of 6:44.85 is still the current Olympic record.
Venues
Clark Atlanta University
Centennial Olympic Stadium (now Turner Field)
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (demolished 1997)
The Omni (Demolished 1997 and replaced by Philips Arena in 1999)
Georgia Dome
Georgia International Horse Park (Conyers, Georgia)
Lake Lanier (Near Gainesville, Georgia)
Georgia World Congress Center
Georgia State University
Georgia Tech Aquatic Center
Forbes Arena (Morehouse College)
Ocoee River (Polk County, Tennessee)
Sanford Stadium (Athens, Georgia)
Savannah River (at Savannah, Georgia)
Stone Mountain Tennis Center (at Stone Mountain, Georgia)
Legion Field (Birmingham, Alabama) – Soccer
Golden Park (Columbus, Georgia) – Softball
Alexander Memorial Coliseum – Boxing
The Beach (then known as Atlanta Beach) (Jonesboro, Georgia)- Beach Volleyball
Medals awarded
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
Participating nations
A total of 197 nations were represented at the 1996 Games, and the combined total of athletes was about 10,318. Twenty-four countries made their Olympic debut this year, including eleven of the ex-Soviet countries that competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992. Russia competed independently for the first time since 1912, when it was the Russian Empire. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia competed as Yugoslavia.
The 14 countries making their Olympic debut were: Azerbaijan, Burundi, Cape Verde, Comoros, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, FYR Macedonia, Nauru, Palestine, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The 10 countries making their Summer Olympic debut (after competing at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer) were: Armenia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Slovakia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Broadcast Rights
NBC
TV Globo, TV Record, SBT and TV Bandeirantes
Seven Network
RAI
BBC
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting
Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:
| 1 |
(host nation) |
44 |
32 |
25 |
101 |
| 2 |
|
26 |
21 |
16 |
63 |
| 3 |
|
20 |
18 |
27 |
65 |
| 4 |
|
16 |
22 |
12 |
50 |
| 5 |
|
15 |
7 |
15 |
37 |
| 6 |
|
13 |
10 |
12 |
35 |
| 7 |
|
9 |
9 |
23 |
41 |
| 8 |
|
9 |
8 |
8 |
25 |
| 9 |
|
9 |
2 |
12 |
23 |
| 10 |
|
7 |
15 |
5 |
27 |
Leading medal winners
| Men's leading medal winners at the Atlanta games |
| Pos |
Athlete's name |
Sport / discipline |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
|
|
|
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
|
2 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
|
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
|
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| Women's leading medal winners at the Atlanta games |
| Pos |
Athlete's name |
Sport / discipline |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
|
|
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
|
|
3 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
|
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
|
|
|
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
|
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
|
|
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
|
|
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
|
|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Further Information
Get more info on '1996 Summer Olympics'.
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