The , formally known as the '''Games of the XXVI Olympiad''' and informally known as the '''Centennial Olympics''', were held in
1996 in
Atlanta ,
Georgia . Atlanta was selected in
September 1990 in
Tokyo Japan , above
Athens ,
Belgrade ,
Manchester ,
Melbourne and
Toronto . Some people felt Athens should have had the right to host the games because it marked the 100th anniversary of the modern
Olympic Games . The
IOC 's vote for Atlanta was therefore slightly surprising; however, the reasoning behind this decision was that Athens'
Infrastructure could not be improved enough in time to successfully host the Games. It was later claimed (but never substantiated) that several of the IOC's key voters had been bribed by Atlanta executives in order to quash the other candidate cities' chances for the hosting bid. Other winning bids from
Nagano ,
Sydney , and
Salt Lake City have since been similarly scrutinized. The sentimental favorite,
Athens , would eventually win the right to host the
2004 Summer Olympics in
1997 .
Though the Games made a financial profit, it was not without issues. Numerous observers considered the Games "over commercialized". 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. In his closing speech,
Juan Antonio Samaranch , head of the IOC, for the first time did not describe the games as the best ever.
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 which became the first residential housing for
Georgia State University and
Turner Field which was a modification of the original
Centennial Olympic Stadium .
The Olympiad's official theme, ''
Summon The Heroes '', was written by
John Williams , making it the third Olympiad for which he has 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 .
The closing ceremony featured
Gloria Estefan singing "Reach", the official theme song of the 1996 Olympics.
- Slovene Gymnast Leon Štukelj arises at the open ceremony as one of the oldest living sportsmen in the world.
- Naim Süleymanoğlu 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 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.
- 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 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.
- 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. Her gymnastics team, popularly known as the " Magnificent Seven ", also includes Shannon Miller , Amy Chow , Jaycie Phelps , Amanda Borden , Dominique Dawes and Dominique Moceanu .
- 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 one occasion as to date. He is widely regarded as one of the best athletes to ever participate in Pro Wrestling .
- Deng Yaping of China wins two gold medals in Women singles and Dobles of Table Tennis . She is also the winner of these two titles in 1992 Barcelona Olympics .
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
(''Host nation in .'')
