# Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics

At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.
A total of two world records and 14 Olympic records were set during the competition.

## Medal winners
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Donovan Bailey Canada | 9.84 (WR) | Frankie Fredericks Namibia | 9.89 | Ato Boldon Trinidad and Tobago | 9.90 |
| 200 metres details | Michael Johnson United States | 19.32 (WR) | Frankie Fredericks Namibia | 19.68 (AR) | Ato Boldon Trinidad and Tobago | 19.80 |
| 400 metres details | Michael Johnson United States | 43.49 (OR) | Roger Black Great Britain | 44.41 | Davis Kamoga Uganda | 44.53 |
| 800 metres details | Vebjørn Rodal Norway | 1:42.58 (OR) | Hezekiél Sepeng South Africa | 1:42.74 | Fred Onyancha Kenya | 1:42.79 |
| 1500 metres details | Noureddine Morceli Algeria | 3:35.78 | Fermín Cacho Spain | 3:36.40 | Stephen Kipkorir Kenya | 3:36.72 |
| 5000 metres details | Vénuste Niyongabo Burundi | 13:07.96 | Paul Bitok Kenya | 13:08.16 | Khalid Boulami Morocco | 13:08.37 |
| 10,000 metres details | Haile Gebrselassie Ethiopia | 27:07.34 (OR) | Paul Tergat Kenya | 27:08.17 | Salah Hissou Morocco | 27:24.67 |
| 110 metres hurdles details | Allen Johnson United States | 12.95 (OR) | Mark Crear United States | 13.09 | Florian Schwarthoff Germany | 13.17 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Derrick Adkins United States | 47.54 | Samuel Matete Zambia | 47.78 | Calvin Davis United States | 47.96 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Joseph Keter Kenya | 8:07.12 | Moses Kiptanui Kenya | 8:08.33 | Alessandro Lambruschini Italy | 8:11.28 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | Canada (CAN) Robert Esmie Glenroy Gilbert Bruny Surin Donovan Bailey Carlton Chambers* | 37.69 | United States (USA) Jon Drummond Tim Harden Michael Marsh Dennis Mitchell Tim Montgomery* | 38.05 | Brazil (BRA) Arnaldo da Silva Robson da Silva Édson Ribeiro André da Silva | 38.41 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | United States (USA) LaMont Smith Alvin Harrison Derek Mills Anthuan Maybank Jason Rouser* | 2:55.99 | Great Britain (GBR) Iwan Thomas Jamie Baulch Mark Richardson Roger Black Mark Hylton* Du'aine Ladejo* | 2:56.60 | Jamaica (JAM) Michael McDonald Greg Haughton Roxbert Martin Davian Clarke Dennis Blake* Garth Robinson* | 2:59.42 |
| Marathon details | Josia Thugwane South Africa | 2:12:36 | Lee Bong-Ju South Korea | 2:12:39 | Erick Wainaina Kenya | 2:12:44 |
| 20 kilometres walk details | Jefferson Pérez Ecuador | 1:20:07 | Ilya Markov Russia | 1:20:16 | Bernardo Segura Mexico | 1:20:23 |
| 50 kilometres walk details | Robert Korzeniowski Poland | 3:43:30 | Mikhail Shchennikov Russia | 3:43:36 | Valentí Massana Spain | 3:44:19 |
| High jump details | Charles Austin United States | 2.39 m (OR) | Artur Partyka Poland | 2.37 m | Steve Smith Great Britain | 2.35 m |
| Pole vault details | Jean Galfione France | 5.92 m | Igor Trandenkov Russia | 5.92 m | Andrei Tivontchik Germany | 5.92 m |
| Long jump details | Carl Lewis United States | 8.50 m | James Beckford Jamaica | 8.29 m | Joe Greene United States | 8.24 m |
| Triple jump details | Kenny Harrison United States | 18.09 m (OR) | Jonathan Edwards Great Britain | 17.88 m | Yoelbi Quesada Cuba | 17.44 m |
| Shot put details | Randy Barnes United States | 21.62 m | John Godina United States | 20.79 m | Oleksandr Bagach Ukraine | 20.75 m |
| Discus throw details | Lars Riedel Germany | 69.40 m | Vladimir Dubrovshchik Belarus | 66.60 m | Vasiliy Kaptyukh Belarus | 65.80 m |
| Hammer throw details | Balázs Kiss Hungary | 81.24 m | Lance Deal United States | 81.12 m | Oleksandr Krykun Ukraine | 80.02 m |
| Javelin throw details | Jan Železný Czech Republic | 88.16 m | Steve Backley Great Britain | 87.44 m | Seppo Räty Finland | 86.98 m |
| Decathlon details | Dan O'Brien United States | 8824 pts | Frank Busemann Germany | 8706 pts | Tomáš Dvořák Czech Republic | 8664 pts |
* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.

### Women

| Games | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres details | Gail Devers United States | 10.94 | Merlene Ottey Jamaica | 10.94 | Gwen Torrence United States | 10.96 |
| 200 metres details | Marie-José Pérec France | 22.12 | Merlene Ottey Jamaica | 22.24 | Mary Onyali Nigeria | 22.38 |
| 400 metres details | Marie-José Pérec France | 48.25 (OR) | Cathy Freeman Australia | 48.63 | Falilat Ogunkoya Nigeria | 49.10 |
| 800 metres details | Svetlana Masterkova Russia | 1:57.73 | Ana Fidelia Quirot Cuba | 1:58.11 | Maria de Lurdes Mutola Mozambique | 1:58.71 |
| 1500 metres details | Svetlana Masterkova Russia | 4:00.83 | Gabriela Szabo Romania | 4:01.54 | Theresia Kiesl Austria | 4:03.02 (NR) |
| 5000 metres details | Wang Junxia China | 14:59.88 (OR) | Pauline Konga Kenya | 15:03.49 | Roberta Brunet Italy | 15:07.52 |
| 10,000 metres details | Fernanda Ribeiro Portugal | 31:01.63 (OR) | Wang Junxia China | 31:02.59 | Gete Wami Ethiopia | 31:06.65 |
| 100 metres hurdles details | Ludmila Engquist Sweden | 12.58 | Brigita Bukovec Slovenia | 12.59 | Patricia Girard France | 12.65 |
| 400 metres hurdles details | Deon Hemmings Jamaica | 52.82 (OR) | Kim Batten United States | 53.08 | Tonja Buford-Bailey United States | 53.22 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | United States (USA) Chryste Gaines Gail Devers Inger Miller Gwen Torrence Carlette Guidry* | 41.95 | Bahamas (BAH) Eldece Clarke Chandra Sturrup Savatheda Fynes Pauline Davis-Thompson Debbie Ferguson* | 42.14 | Jamaica (JAM) Michelle Freeman Juliet Cuthbert Nikole Mitchell Merlene Ottey Gillian Russell* Andria Lloyd* | 42.24 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | United States (USA) Rochelle Stevens Maicel Malone-Wallace Kim Graham Jearl Miles Linetta Wilson* | 3:20.91 | Nigeria (NGR) Olabisi Afolabi Fatima Yusuf Charity Opara Falilat Ogunkoya | 3:21.04 | Germany (GER) Uta Rohländer Linda Kisabaka Anja Rücker Grit Breuer | 3:21.14 |
| Marathon details | Fatuma Roba Ethiopia | 2:26:05 | Valentina Yegorova Russia | 2:28:05 | Yuko Arimori Japan | 2:28:39 |
| 10 kilometres walk details | Yelena Nikolayeva Russia | 41:49 (OR) | Elisabetta Perrone Italy | 42:12 | Wang Yan China | 42:19 |
| High jump details | Stefka Kostadinova Bulgaria | 2.05 m | Niki Bakoyianni Greece | 2.03 m | Inha Babakova Ukraine | 2.01 m |
| Long jump details | Chioma Ajunwa Nigeria | 7.12 m | Fiona May Italy | 7.02 m | Jackie Joyner-Kersee United States | 7.00 m |
| Triple jump details | Inessa Kravets Ukraine | 15.33 m (OR) | Inna Lasovskaya Russia | 14.98 m | Šárka Kašpárková Czech Republic | 14.98 m |
| Shot put details | Astrid Kumbernuss Germany | 20.56 m | Sui Xinmei China | 19.88 m | Irina Khudoroshkina Russia | 19.35 m |
| Discus throw details | Ilke Wyludda Germany | 69.66 m | Natalya Sadova Russia | 66.48 m | Ellina Zvereva Belarus | 65.64 m |
| Javelin throw details | Heli Rantanen Finland | 67.94 m | Louise McPaul Australia | 65.54 m | Trine Hattestad Norway | 64.98 m |
| Heptathlon details | Ghada Shouaa Syria | 6780 pts | Natallia Sazanovich Belarus | 6563 pts | Denise Lewis Great Britain | 6489 pts |
* Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.

## Olympic and world records broken
### Men

Note: Any world record is also an Olympic record
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| 100m | 27 July | Final | Donovan Bailey | Canada | 9.84 | WR |
| 200m | 29 July | Final | Michael Johnson | United States | 19.32 | WR |
| 400m | 27 July | Final | Michael Johnson | United States | 43.49 | OR |
| 800m | 30 July | Final | Vebjørn Rodal | Norway | 1:42.58 | OR |
| 10,000m | 26 July | Final | Haile Gebrselassie | Ethiopia | 27:07.34 | OR |
| 110m hurdles | 28 July | Final | Allen Johnson | United States | 12.95 | OR |
| High jump | 30 July | Final | Charles Austin | United States | 2.39 | OR |
| Pole vault | 1 August | Final | Jean Galfione | United States | 5.92 | OR |
| Triple jump | 2 August | Final | Kenny Harrison | United States | 18.09 | OR |

### Women

| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| 400m | 28 July | Final | Marie-José Pérec | France | 48.26 | OR |
| 5000m | 29 July | Final | Wang Junxia | China | 14:59.88 | OR |
| 400m hurdles | 2 August | Final | Deon Hemmings | Jamaica | 52.82 | OR |
| 10 km race walk | 27 July | Final | Yelena Nikolayeva | Russia | 41:49 | OR |
| Triple jump | 30 July | Final | Inessa Kravets | Ukraine | 15.33 | OR |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 13 | 5 | 5 | 23 |
| 2 | Russia (RUS) | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Germany (GER) | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | France (FRA) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Ethiopia (ETH) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Canada (CAN) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Kenya (KEN) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 8 | Jamaica (JAM) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | China (CHN) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | Nigeria (NGR) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 11 | Poland (POL) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | South Africa (RSA) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | Ukraine (UKR) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Finland (FIN) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 17 | Algeria (ALG) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Burundi (BDI) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Ecuador (ECU) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Portugal (POR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Sweden (SWE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Syria (SYR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 26 | Belarus (BLR) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 26 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 28 | Australia (AUS) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 | Namibia (NAM) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 30 | Spain (ESP) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 32 | Bahamas (BAH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Greece (GRE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Romania (ROU) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Slovenia (SLO) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | Zambia (ZAM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 38 | Morocco (MAR) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 38 | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 40 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Japan (JPN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Mexico (MEX) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Mozambique (MOZ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 40 | Uganda (UGA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (45 entries) | Totals (45 entries) | 44 | 44 | 44 | 132 |

## Participating nations

A total of 190 nations participated in the different Athletics events at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
* Afghanistan (2 athletes)
* Albania (2)
* Algeria (8)
* American Samoa (2)
* Andorra (1)
* Angola (2)
* Antigua and Barbuda (8)
* Argentina (8)
* Armenia (2)
* Aruba (1)
* Australia (60)
* Austria (11)
* Azerbaijan (4)
* Bahamas (20)
* Bahrain (1)
* Bangladesh (2)
* Barbados (4)
* Belarus (34)
* Belgium (12)
* Belize (4)
* Benin (5)
* Bermuda (3)
* Bolivia (3)
* Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
* Botswana (6)
* Brazil (40)
* British Virgin Islands (6)
* Bulgaria (17)
* Burkina Faso (4)
* Burundi (7)
* Cambodia (2)
* Cameroon (8)
* Canada (39)
* Cape Verde (3)
* Cayman Islands (1)
* Central African Republic (5)
* Chad (4)
* Chile (4)
* China (31)
* Chinese Taipei (7)
* Colombia (13)
* Comoros (4)
* Republic of the Congo (2)
* Cook Islands (1)
* Costa Rica (2)
* Ivory Coast (5)
* Croatia (3)
* Cuba (46)
* Cyprus (8)
* Czech Republic (23)
* Denmark (7)
* Zaire (2)
* Djibouti (3)
* Dominica (5)
* Dominican Republic (3)
* Ecuador (4)
* El Salvador (2)
* Equatorial Guinea (5)
* Estonia (12)
* Ethiopia (16)
* Fiji (7)
* Finland (26)
* France (49)
* Gabon (4)
* The Gambia (9)
* Georgia (2)
* Germany (85)
* Ghana (15)
* Great Britain (77)
* Greece (25)
* Grenada (5)
* Guam (2)
* Guatemala (6)
* Guinea (4)
* Guinea-Bissau (2)
* Guyana (6)
* Haiti (3)
* Honduras (1)
* Hong Kong (1)
* Hungary (22)
* Iceland (3)
* India (6)
* Indonesia (1)
* Iran (1)
* Iraq (1)
* Ireland (24)
* Israel (4)
* Italy (50)
* Jamaica (38)
* Japan (32)
* Jordan (2)
* Kazakhstan (18)
* Kenya (43)
* Kuwait (1)
* Kyrgyzstan (6)
* Laos (5)
* Latvia (16)
* Lesotho (9)
* Liberia (5)
* Libya (4)
* Liechtenstein (1)
* Lithuania (14)
* Luxembourg (1)
* Madagascar (6)
* Malaysia (3)
* Malawi (2)
* Maldives (5)
* Mali (3)
* Malta (2)
* Mauritania (4)
* Mauritius (12)
* Mexico (15)
* Moldova (7)
* Mongolia (2)
* Morocco (17)
* Mozambique (1)
* Myanmar (2)
* Namibia (3)
* Nepal (2)
* Netherlands (10)
* Netherlands Antilles (1)
* New Zealand (18)
* Nicaragua (2)
* Niger (3)
* Nigeria (32)
* North Korea (4)
* Norway (13)
* Oman (1)
* Pakistan (2)
* Palestine (1)
* Panama (1)
* Papua New Guinea (6)
* Paraguay (2)
* Peru (5)
* Philippines (2)
* Poland (23)
* Portugal (30)
* Puerto Rico (5)
* Qatar (9)
* Romania (25)
* Russia (85)
* Rwanda (4)
* Saint Kitts and Nevis (10)
* Saint Lucia (5)
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (8)
* Samoa (2)
* San Marino (1)
* São Tomé and Príncipe (2)
* Saudi Arabia (9)
* Senegal (7)
* FR Yugoslavia (8)
* Seychelles (2)
* Sierra Leone (12)
* Singapore (2)
* Slovakia (14)
* Slovenia (10)
* Solomon Islands (3)
* Somalia (4)
* South Africa (22)
* South Korea (17)
* Spain (56)
* Sri Lanka (6)
* Sudan (3)
* Suriname (2)
* Swaziland (4)
* Sweden (17)
* Switzerland (23)
* Syria (1)
* Tanzania (5)
* Tajikistan (1)
* Thailand (8)
* Togo (5)
* Tonga (2)
* Trinidad and Tobago (6)
* Tunisia (6)
* Turkey (3)
* Turkmenistan (1)
* Uganda (4)
* Ukraine (43)
* United Arab Emirates (1)
* United States (121)
* Uruguay (2)
* Uzbekistan (12)
* Vanuatu (4)
* Venezuela (4)
* Vietnam (2)
* Virgin Islands (7)
* Yemen (3)
* Zambia (4)
* Zimbabwe (6)