# 1996 United States Olympic trials (track and field)

The 1996 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held at Centennial Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the same venue as would be used for the 1996 Summer Olympics. This was effectively the new stadium's test run. The stadium was converted into what is now used for baseball as Turner Field. Organised by USA Track and Field, the ten-day competition lasted from June 14 until June 23 and served as the national championships in track and field for the United States. The men's Marathon trials were held February 17 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The results of the event determined qualification for the American Olympic team at the 1996 Summer Olympics, held in the same stadium. Provided they had achieved the Olympic "A" standard, the top three athletes gained a place on the Olympic team. In the event that a leading athlete did not hold an "A" standard, or an athlete withdrew, the next highest finishing athlete with an "A" standard was selected instead.

## Medal summary

Key: ≠ Athlete without "A" standard, not selected.

### Men
#### Men track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres Wind : +1.1 m/s | Dennis Mitchell | 9.92 | Michael Marsh | 10.00 | Jon Drummond | 10.02 |
| 200 metres Wind : +1.7 m/s | Michael Johnson | 19.66 WR | Jeff Williams | 20.03 | Michael Marsh | 20.04 |
| 400 metres | Michael Johnson | 43.44 CR | Butch Reynolds | 43.91 | Alvin Harrison | 44.09 |
| 800 metres | Johnny Gray | 1.44.00 | Brandon Rock | 1.44.64 | Jose Parrilla | 1.44.86 |
| 1500 metres | Paul McMullen | 3.43.86 | Jim Sorensen | 3.43.88 | Jason Pyrah | 3.44.03 |
| 5000 metres | Bob Kennedy | 13.46.17 | Matt Giusto | 13.56.89 | Ronnie Harris | 13.57.49 |
| 10,000 metres | Todd Williams | 28.46.58 | Joe LeMay | 29.06.89 | Dan Middleman | 29.13.81 |
| Marathon | Bob Kempainen | 2:12:45 | Mark Coogan | 2:13:05 | Keith Brantly | 2:13:22 |
| 110 metres hurdles Wind : +0.9 m/s | Allen Johnson | 12.92 =AR | Mark Crear | 13.05 | Eugene Swift | 13.21 |
| 400 metres hurdles | Bryan Bronson | 47.98 | Derrick Adkins | 48.18 | Calvin Davis | 48.32 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Mark Croghan | 8.18.80 | Robert Gary | 8.19.26 | Marc Davis | 8.20.73 |
| 20 km race walk | Curt Clausen | 1:29:50.00 | Tim Seaman | 1:30:27.00 | Gary Morgan | 1:31:00.00 |

#### Men field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | Charles Austin | 2.30 m (7 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | Ed Broxterman | 2.30 m (7 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | Cameron Wright | 2.30 m (7 ft 6+1⁄2 in) |
| Pole vault | Lawrence Johnson | 5.80 m (19 ft 1⁄4 in) | Jeff Hartwig | 5.80 m (19 ft 1⁄4 in) | Scott Huffman | 5.69 m (18 ft 8 in) |
| Long jump | Mike Powell | 8.39 m (27 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | Joe Greene | 8.34 m (27 ft 4+1⁄4 in)w | Carl Lewis | 8.30 m (27 ft 2+3⁄4 in) |
| Triple jump | Kenny Harrison | 18.01 m (59 ft 1 in)w | Mike Conley | 17.57 m (57 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | Robert Howard | 17.19 m (56 ft 4+3⁄4 in) |
| Shot put | Randy Barnes | 21.37 m (70 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | John Godina | 21.19 m (69 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | C.J. Hunter | 21.07 m (69 ft 1+1⁄2 in) |
| Discus throw | Anthony Washington | 65.86 m (216 ft 0 in) | John Godina | 64.56 m (211 ft 9 in) | Adam Setliff | 63.27 m (207 ft 6 in) |
| Hammer throw | Lance Deal | 75.99 m (249 ft 3 in) | David Popejoy | 74.27 m (243 ft 8 in) | Kevin McMahon | 73.58 m (241 ft 4 in) |
| Javelin throw | Todd Riech | 81.86 m (268 ft 6 in) | Tom Pukstys | 81.58 m (267 ft 7 in) | Breaux Greer | 79.98 m (262 ft 4 in) |
| Decathlon | Dan O'Brien | 8726 (10.32/7.46/15.64/2.08/46.81/14.04/49.38/5.20/65.22/5:12.01) | Steve Fritz | 8636 (10.74/7.62/16.25/2.05/49.36/13.80/50.24/4.90/63.74/4:46.20) | Chris Huffins | 8546 (10.22/7.91/16.44/2.02/48.05/14.09/48.62/4.80/63.64/5:27.42) |

### Women
#### Women track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres Wind : +1.1 m/s | Gwen Torrence | 10.82 | Gail Devers | 10.91 | D'Andre Hill | 10.92 |
| 200 metres Wind : -0.6 m/s | Carlette Guidry | 22.14 | Dannette Young-Stone | 22.18 | Inger Miller | 22.25 |
| 400 metres | Maicel Malone | 50.52 | Jearl Miles Clark | 50.61 | Kim Graham | 50.87 |
| 800 metres | Meredith Valmon | 1:57.04 CR | Joetta Clark-Diggs | 1:58.22 | Suzy Favor Hamilton | 1:59.04 |
| 1500 metres | Regina Jacobs | 4:08.67 | Juli Henner | 4:09.49 | Vicki Huber | 4:11.23 |
| 5000 metres | Lynn Jennings | 15:28.18 | Mary Slaney | 15:29.39 | Amy Rudolph | 15:29.91 |
| 10,000 metres | Kate Fonshell | 32:37.91 | Olga Appell | 32:43.79 | Joan Nesbit | 32:46.77 |
| Marathon | Jenny Spangler | 2:29:54 | Linda Somers | 2:30:06 | Anne Marie Lauck | 2:31:18 |
| 100 metres hurdles Wind :+-0.6 m/s | Gail Devers | 12.62 | Lynda Goode | 12.69 | Cheryl Dickey | 12.76 |
| 400 metres hurdles | Kim Batten | 53.81 | Tonja Buford-Bailey | 53.92 | Sandra Farmer-Patrick | 54.07 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase Unofficial event | Courtney Meldrum | 10:23.47 WR | Sarah Heeb | 10:25.44 | Rae Henderson | 10:35.93 |
| 10 km race walk | Debbi Lawrence | 46:05 | Michelle Rohl | 46:37 | Victoria Herazo | 48:12 |

#### Women field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | Tisha Waller | 1.95 m (6 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Connie Teaberry | 1.95 m (6 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Amy Acuff | 1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in) |
| Pole vault | Stacy Dragila | 4.20 m (13 ft 9+1⁄4 in) NR | Melissa Price | 3.90 m (12 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | Tiffany Smith | 3.80 m (12 ft 5+1⁄2 in) |
| Long jump | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | 7.04 m (23 ft 1 in)w | Shana Williams | 6.93 m (22 ft 8+3⁄4 in) | Marieke Veltman | 6.88 m (22 ft 6+3⁄4 in) |
| Triple jump | Cynthea Rhodes | 14.06 m (46 ft 1+1⁄2 in) | Sheila Hudson | 14.05 m (46 ft 1 in) | Diana Orrange | 13.84 m (45 ft 4+3⁄4 in) |
| Shot put | Connie Price-Smith | 19.09 m (62 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | Ramona Pagel | 18.60 m (61 ft 1⁄4 in) | Dawn Dumble | 17.73 m (58 ft 2 in) |
| Discus throw | Suzy Powell | 60.58 m (198 ft 9 in) | Lacy Barnes-Mileham | 59.66 m (195 ft 8 in) | Aretha Hill | 58.04 m (190 ft 5 in) |
| Hammer throw | Dawn Ellerbe | 59.06 m (193 ft 9 in) CR | Leslie Coons | 57.46 m (188 ft 6 in) | Katie Panek | 56.34 m (184 ft 10 in) |
| Javelin throw | Nicole Carroll | 57.58 m (188 ft 10 in) | Windy Dean | 57.10 m (187 ft 4 in) | Lynda Blutreich | 56.32 m (184 ft 9 in) |
| Heptathlon | Kelly Blair-LaBounty | 6406 (13.47/1.78/12.34/24.24/6.48/48.10/2:12.23) | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | 6403 (13.03/1.78/15.41/24.27/6.71/36.36/2:20.80) | Sharon Hanson | 6352 (13.07/1.73/14.23/24.10/5.71/48.76/2:09.68) |