Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics - Athletes, Medals & Results (2024)

ResultsHighlights

Turkish Idol

Turkish weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu became the first weightlifter in history to win three consecutive Olympic titles. "When he eats at a restaurant, nobody asks him to pay the bill; if he breaks the speed limit, he does not get fined, and the police wish him a pleasant journey," wrote a Turkish journalist.

NOCs: 197

Athletes: 10,318 (3,512 women, 6,806 men)

Events: 271

Volunteers: 47,466

Media: 15,108 media (5,695 written press, 9,413 broadcasters)

The Vote

During the 96th IOC Session in September 1990 in Tokyo, International Olympic Committee members voted in the final round for Atlanta (51 votes) over Athens (35 votes).

The Medals

Athletes from a record-breaking 79 countries won medals and 53 countries won gold medals.

Tennis

Tennis player Virag Csurgo (HUN) was entered in the doubles event only. On the morning of 24 July, she was helping a team-mate to warm up when she was informed that one of the singles entrants had failed to appear and Csurgo could take her place if she showed up for the first round match which was to begin in five minutes' time. Wearing her practice shorts and a t-shirt, Csurgo hurried over to the court and actually won the match.

Wrestling

In the second round of the middleweight (82kg) freestyle wrestling tournament, Elmadi Jabrailov of Kazakhstan faced Lucman Jabrailov of Moldova. The two were brothers from Chechnya, but chose not to represent Russia because of its war against their homeland. Elmadi won the high-scoring but unusually friendly encounter by 10 points to 8.

The Professionals are Admitted

Professionals were admitted to the cycling events.

For Women Only

A women-only sport was introduced: softball.

Professionals in Football

Each team that qualified for the football tournament was allowed to include three professionals, regardless of age or olympic experience.

Elimination of Demonstration Sports

Some demonstration sports were included in various editions of the Olympic Games up until 1992. The Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs) could integrate demonstration sports into the Olympic programme. However, the organisation of these demonstrations created a lot of extra work for the OCOGs, which had to provide services that were almost identical to those for the sports on the Olympic programme. Therefore, at the 95th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), held in 1989 in Puerto Rico, it was decided that demonstration sports would be eliminated definitively from the 1996 Atlanta Games onwards.

Ceremonies

Celebration in the Olympic Stadium for the Centenary Games.

Official Opening of the Games by:

President Bill Clinton

Lighting the Olympic Flame by:

Muhammad Ali (boxing)

Olympic Oath by:

Teresa Edwards (basketball)

Officials' Oath by:

Hobie Billingsly (diving)