# Swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics

The swimming competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics was held at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, United States. There were 762 competitors from 117 countries. This was the last Olympics where swimming B-finals were held.
At the time of the games, the facility had a temporary 50m warm-up pool located behind the locker rooms and entry concourse (on the ground); as well as a temporary roof, and open walls (there were wall-like structures/curtains at the diving well and turning end of the pool). The open walls allowed for temporary seating to be in place during the games. A wall and new roof have since been placed on the facility.
A total of 4 world records and 13 Olympic records were set during the competition
The women's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay made its debut at these Games.

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | United States (USA) | 13 | 11 | 2 | 26 |
| 2 | Russia (RUS) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Hungary (HUN) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Ireland (IRL) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Australia (AUS) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 6 | South Africa (RSA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | New Zealand (NZL) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | China (CHN) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Costa Rica (CRC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Germany (GER) | 0 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 12 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 12 | Canada (CAN) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 14 | Cuba (CUB) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Finland (FIN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 19 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (19 entries) | Totals (19 entries) | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96 |

## Medal summary
### Men's events

| Games | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 50 m freestyle details | Alexander Popov Russia | 22.13 | Gary Hall, Jr. United States | 22.26 | Fernando Scherer Brazil | 22.29 SA |
| 100 m freestyle details | Alexander Popov Russia | 48.74 | Gary Hall, Jr. United States | 48.81 | Gustavo Borges Brazil | 49.02 |
| 200 m freestyle details | Danyon Loader New Zealand | 1:47.63 NR | Gustavo Borges Brazil | 1:48.08 SA | Daniel Kowalski Australia | 1:48.25 |
| 400 m freestyle details | Danyon Loader New Zealand | 3:47.97 NR | Paul Palmer Great Britain | 3:49.00 | Daniel Kowalski Australia | 3:49.39 |
| 1500 m freestyle details | Kieren Perkins Australia | 14:56.40 | Daniel Kowalski Australia | 15:02.43 | Graeme Smith Great Britain | 15:02.48 NR |
| 100 m backstroke details | Jeff Rouse United States | 54.10 | Rodolfo Falcón Cuba | 54.98 | Neisser Bent Cuba | 55.02 |
| 200 m backstroke details | Brad Bridgewater United States | 1:58.54 | Tripp Schwenk United States | 1:58.99 | Emanuele Merisi Italy | 1:59.18 |
| 100 m breaststroke details | Fred Deburghgraeve Belgium | 1:00.65 | Jeremy Linn United States | 1:00.77 AM | Mark Warnecke Germany | 1:01.33 NR |
| 200 m breaststroke details | Norbert Rózsa Hungary | 2:12.57 | Károly Güttler Hungary | 2:13.03 | Andrey Korneyev Russia | 2:13.17 |
| 100 m butterfly details | Denis Pankratov Russia | 52.27 WR | Scott Miller Australia | 52.53 OC | Vladislav Kulikov Russia | 53.13 |
| 200 m butterfly details | Denis Pankratov Russia | 1:56.51 | Tom Malchow United States | 1:57.44 | Scott Goodman Australia | 1:57.48 |
| 200 m medley details | Attila Czene Hungary | 1:59.91 OR | Jani Sievinen Finland | 2:00.13 | Curtis Myden Canada | 2:01.13 NR |
| 400 m medley details | Tom Dolan United States | 4:14.90 | Eric Namesnik United States | 4:15.25 | Curtis Myden Canada | 4:16.28 NR |
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay details | United States (USA) Jon Olsen Josh Davis Brad Schumacher Gary Hall, Jr. David Fox* Scott Tucker* | 3:15.41 OR | Russia (RUS) Roman Yegorov Alexander Popov Vladimir Predkin Vladimir Pyshnenko Denis Pimankov* | 3:17.06 ER | Germany (GER) Christian Tröger Bengt Zikarsky Björn Zikarsky Mark Pinger Alexander Lüderitz* | 3:17.20 |
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay details | United States (USA) Josh Davis Joe Hudepohl Brad Schumacher Ryan Berube Jon Olsen* | 7:14.84 | Sweden (SWE) Christer Wallin Anders Holmertz Lars Frölander Anders Lyrbring | 7:17.56 | Germany (GER) Aimo Heilmann Christian Keller Christian Tröger Steffen Zesner Konstantin Dubrovin* Oliver Lampe* | 7:17.71 |
| 4 × 100 m medley relay details | United States (USA) Jeff Rouse Jeremy Linn Mark Henderson Gary Hall, Jr. Josh Davis* Kurt Grote* John Hargis* Tripp Schwenk* | 3:34.84 WR | Russia (RUS) Vladimir Selkov Stanislav Lopukhov Denis Pankratov Alexander Popov Roman Ivanovsky* Vladislav Kulikov* Roman Yegorov* | 3:37.55 ER | Australia (AUS) Steven Dewick Phil Rogers Scott Miller Michael Klim Toby Haenen* | 3:39.56 OC |
* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

### Women's events

| Games | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 50 m freestyle details | Amy Van Dyken United States | 24.87 AM | Le Jingyi China | 24.90 | Sandra Völker Germany | 25.14 |
| 100 m freestyle details | Le Jingyi China | 54.50 OR | Sandra Völker Germany | 54.88 | Angel Martino United States | 54.93 |
| 200 m freestyle details | Claudia Poll Costa Rica | 1:58.16 | Franziska van Almsick Germany | 1:58.57 | Dagmar Hase Germany | 1:59.56 |
| 400 m freestyle details | Michelle Smith Ireland | 4:07.25 NR | Dagmar Hase Germany | 4:08.30 | Kirsten Vlieghuis Netherlands | 4:08.70 NR |
| 800 m freestyle details | Brooke Bennett United States | 8:27.89 | Dagmar Hase Germany | 8:29.91 | Kirsten Vlieghuis Netherlands | 8:30.84 NR |
| 100 m backstroke details | Beth Botsford United States | 1:01.19 | Whitney Hedgepeth United States | 1:01.47 | Marianne Kriel South Africa | 1:02.12 AF |
| 200 m backstroke details | Krisztina Egerszegi Hungary | 2:07.83 | Whitney Hedgepeth United States | 2:11.98 | Cathleen Rund Germany | 2:12.06 |
| 100 m breaststroke details | Penelope Heyns South Africa | 1:07.73 | Amanda Beard United States | 1:08.09 AM | Samantha Riley Australia | 1:09.18 |
| 200 m breaststroke details | Penelope Heyns South Africa | 2:25.41 OR | Amanda Beard United States | 2:25.75 | Ágnes Kovács Hungary | 2:26.57 |
| 100 m butterfly details | Amy Van Dyken United States | 59.13 | Liu Limin China | 59.14 | Angel Martino United States | 59.23 |
| 200 m butterfly details | Susie O'Neill Australia | 2:07.76 | Petria Thomas Australia | 2:09.82 | Michelle Smith Ireland | 2:09.91 NR |
| 200 m individual medley details | Michelle Smith Ireland | 2:13.93 NR | Marianne Limpert Canada | 2:14.35 NR | Lin Li China | 2:14.74 |
| 400 m individual medley details | Michelle Smith Ireland | 4:39.18 NR | Allison Wagner United States | 4:42.03 | Krisztina Egerszegi Hungary | 4:42.53 |
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay details | United States (USA) Angel Martino Amy Van Dyken Catherine Fox Jenny Thompson Lisa Jacob* Melanie Valerio* | 3:39.29 OR | China (CHN) Le Jingyi Chao Na Nian Yun Shan Ying | 3:40.48 | Germany (GER) Sandra Völker Simone Osygus Antje Buschschulte Franziska van Almsick Meike Freitag* | 3:41.48 |
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay details | United States (USA) Trina Jackson Cristina Teuscher Sheila Taormina Jenny Thompson Lisa Jacob* Annette Salmeen* Ashley Whitney* | 7:59.87 OR, AM | Germany (GER) Franziska van Almsick Kerstin Kielgass Anke Scholz Dagmar Hase Meike Freitag* Simone Osygus* | 8:01.55 | Australia (AUS) Julia Greville Nicole Stevenson Emma Johnson Susie O'Neill Lise Mackie* | 8:05.47 |
| 4 × 100 m medley relay details | United States (USA) Beth Botsford Amanda Beard Angel Martino Amy Van Dyken Catherine Fox* Whitney Hedgepeth* Kristine Quance* Jenny Thompson* | 4:02.88 | Australia (AUS) Nicole Stevenson Samantha Riley Susie O'Neill Sarah Ryan Helen Denman* Angela Kennedy* | 4:05.08 | China (CHN) Chen Yan Han Xue Cai Huijue Shan Ying | 4:07.34 |
* Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

## Olympic and world records broken

Note: Any world record is also an Olympic record

### Men

| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| 100m Breaststroke | 20 July | Heat 6 | Frédérik Deburghgraeve | Belgium | 1:00.60 | WR |
| 100m Butterfly | 24 July | Heat 7 | Scott Miller | Australia | 52.89 | OR |
| 100m Butterfly | 24 July | Final A | Denis Pankratov | Russia | 52.27 | WR |
| 200m Individual Medley | 25 July | Final A | Attila Czene | Hungary | 1:59.91 | OR |
| 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay | 23 July | Final | Jon Olsen (49.94) Josh Davis (49.00) Brad Schumacher (49.02) Gary Hall, Jr. (47.45) | United States | 3:15.41 | OR |
| 4 × 100 m Medley Relay | 26 July | Final | Jeff Rouse (53.95) Jeremy Linn (1:00.32) Mark Henderson (52.39) Gary Hall, Jr. (48.18) | United States | 3:34.84 | WR |

### Women

| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Time | Record |
| 100m Freestyle | 20 July | Final A | Le Jingyi | China | 54.50 | OR |
| 100m Breaststroke | 21 July | Heat 6 | Penny Heyns | South Africa | 1:07.02 | WR |
| 200m Breaststroke | 23 July | Heat 4 | Penny Heyns | South Africa | 2:26.63 | OR |
| 200m Breaststroke | 23 July | Final A | Penny Heyns | South Africa | 2:25.41 | OR |
| 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay | 22 July | Final | Angel Martino (55.34) Amy Van Dyken (53.91) Catherine Fox (55.93) Jenny Thompson (54.11) | United States | 3:39.29 | OR |
| 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay | 25 July | Heat 2 | Lisa Jacob (2:01.31) Ashley Whitney (2:01.77) Sheila Taormina (2:00.57) Annette Salmeen (2:01.34) | United States | 8:04.99 | OR |
| 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay | 25 July | Final | Trina Jackson (1:59.71) Cristina Teuscher (1:58.86) Sheila Taormina (2:01.29) Jenny Thompson (1:56.83) | United States | 7:59.87 | OR |

## Participating nations

762 swimmers from 117 nations competed.
* Algeria (1)
* Andorra (2)
* Angola (1)
* Argentina (7)
* Armenia (1)
* Australia (33)
* Austria (4)
* Azerbaijan (1)
* Bahamas (1)
* Barbados (2)
* Bangladesh (1)
* Belgium (4)
* Belarus (10)
* Bolivia (2)
* Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
* Brazil (10)
* Bulgaria (1)
* Cambodia (2)
* Canada (27)
* Chile (1)
* China (21)
* Chinese Taipei (8)
* Colombia (5)
* Republic of the Congo (2)
* Costa Rica (3)
* Croatia (11)
* Cuba (3)
* Cyprus (2)
* Czech Republic (10)
* Denmark (10)
* Dominica (1)
* Ecuador (5)
* Egypt (2)
* El Salvador (2)
* Estonia (1)
* Fiji (2)
* Finland (12)
* France (25)
* Germany (28)
* Great Britain (28)
* Greece (8)
* Guam (2)
* Guatemala (2)
* Haiti (1)
* Honduras (1)
* Hong Kong (3)
* Hungary (21)
* Iceland (3)
* India (2)
* Indonesia (1)
* Iran (1)
* Ireland (5)
* Israel (4)
* Italy (14)
* Jamaica (1)
* Japan (27)
* Jordan (2)
* Kazakhstan (7)
* Kyrgyzstan (12)
* Kuwait (3)
* Latvia (4)
* Lithuania (8)
* Macedonia (4)
* Madagascar (2)
* Maldives (1)
* Malaysia (5)
* Malta (1)
* Moldova (5)
* Mauritius (2)
* Mexico (2)
* Monaco (1)
* Mozambique (1)
* Namibia (2)
* Nepal (2)
* Netherlands (20)
* Netherlands Antilles (1)
* New Zealand (14)
* Nicaragua (1)
* Norway (5)
* Oman (1)
* Pakistan (1)
* Panama (2)
* Paraguay (2)
* Peru (2)
* Philippines (2)
* Poland (11)
* Portugal (12)
* Puerto Rico (7)
* Romania (14)
* Russia (30)
* San Marino (1)
* FR Yugoslavia (4)
* Seychelles (1)
* Sierra Leone (1)
* Singapore (5)
* Slovenia (5)
* Slovakia (3)
* South Africa (7)
* South Korea (20)
* Spain (18)
* Suriname (4)
* Swaziland (1)
* Sweden (18)
* Switzerland (5)
* Syria (1)
* Thailand (6)
* Trinidad and Tobago (2)
* Turkey (4)
* Ukraine (13)
* United States (44)
* Virgin Islands (1)
* United Arab Emirates (1)
* Uruguay (2)
* Uzbekistan (6)
* Venezuela (7)
* Vietnam (2)
* Zimbabwe (1)