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 for Atlanta, predicting that Athens' infrastructure could not be improved enough in time to successfully host the Games. Athens would eventually win the right to host the 2004 Summer Olympics in 1997, and the city finished its preparations just days before the start of their games. There were claims that executives in Atlanta had bribed the IOC officials.[1] These claims were never substantiated, but they prompted other winning bids from Nagano in 1998, Sydney in 2000, and Salt Lake City in 2002 to be more carefully scrutinized.
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Though the Games made a financial profit, it was not without issues. Numerous observers considered the Games "over commercialized".[2] 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 111 others, and elicited the death of Melih Uzunyol by heart attack. Even with the problems, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said, in his closing speech, "Well done, Atlanta", although did not say they had been the best Olympics yet, as he did at every other Olympic closing ceremony while he was IOC president.
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 more modern city it has become since. Examples of this are the mid-rise dormitories built for the Olympic village. They became the first residential housing for Georgia State University, and have 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. It is interesting to note that 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 many felt that the games in Atlanta were over-commercialized and were less exciting than previous games.[2]
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Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic torch during the opening ceremonies of the games and received his gold medal from the 1960 Summer Olympics (he had lost his previous one).
SlovenegymnastLeon Štukelj arises at the opening ceremony as one of the oldest living sportsmen in the world (age 97)
Michelle Smith of Ireland wins three gold medals and a bronze in swimming, but her victories are overshadowed by doping allegations, which are later reinforced as she is banned after failing a test in 1998.
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. (completes his Career Grand Slam in 1999 when he wins the French Open singles title).
Kurt Angle of the United States won the gold medal in 100 kg (220 lb) freestyle wrestling while suffering a fractured neck. Angle would later go on to fame in Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment, winning the WWE Championship on four different occasions and the World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions as to date making him a six time world champion. He is widely regarded as one of the best athletes to ever participate in pro wrestling and the only Olympic gold medalist in the sport.
Participants at Summer olympics 1996 Blue = Participating for the first time. Green = Have previously participated. Yellow square is host city (Atlanta)
A total of 197 nations were represented at the 1996 Games - the combined total of athletes was about 10,318.[3] At least 20 countries made their Olympic debut this year, including the twelve Soviet countries in the Unified Team in 1992, who competed independently for the first time.
