# Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

The men's 110 metres hurdles was an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The final was held on July 29, 1996. Sixty-two athletes from 39 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Allen Johnson of the United States, the nation's 18th title in the event. Florian Schwarthoff's bronze was the first medal in the event for Germany, though East Germany had won gold in 1980.

## Background

This was the 23rd appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Five finalists from 1992 returned: gold medalist Mark McKoy (then of Canada, now of Austria), fourth-place finisher Tony Jarrett of Great Britain, fifth-place finisher Florian Schwarthoff of Germany, sixth-place finisher Emilio Valle of Cuba, and seventh-place finisher Colin Jackson of Great Britain. McKoy, Jarrett, and Jackson had all been finalists in 1988 as well, with Jackson taking silver in Seoul. Jackson was favored to return to the podium and possibly win; he had taken the 1993 world, 1990 and 1994 European, and 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth championships and broken the world record in 1993. His main competition was Allen Johnson of the United States, the 1995 world champion.
Cape Verde, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan each made their first appearance in the event. The United States made its 22nd appearance, most of any nation (having missed only the boycotted 1980 Games).

## Competition format

The competition used the four-round format previously used in 1960 and since 1988, still using the eight-man semifinals and finals used since 1964. The "fastest loser" system, also introduced in 1964, was used in the first round.
The first round consisted of eight heats, with 8 hurdlers each (before withdrawals left one heat with only 6). The top three hurdlers in each heat, along with the eight next fastest overall, advanced to the quarterfinals. The 32 quarterfinalists were divided into four heats of 8 hurdlers each, with the top four in each heat advancing. One additional hurdler advanced due to being obstructed. The 17 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals of 8 hurdlers each (with one having an extra due to the obstruction); again, the top four hurdlers in each advanced to the 8-man final.

## Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.
| World record | Colin Jackson (GBR) | 12.91 | Stuttgart, Germany | 20 August 1993 |
| Olympic record | Roger Kingdom (USA) | 12.98 | Seoul, South Korea | 28 September 1988 |
Allen Johnson set a new Olympic record with 12.95 seconds in the final.

## Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Sunday, 28 July 1996 | 10:45 18:30 | Round 1 Quarterfinals |
| Monday, 29 July 1996 | 18:20 20:50 | Semifinals Final |

## Results
### Round 1
#### Heat 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Igor Kováč | Slovakia | 0.175 | 13.62 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Mark McKoy | Austria | 0.152 | 13.70 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Andrey Kislykh | Russia | 0.150 | 13.74 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Claude Edorh | Germany | 0.177 | 13.74 | q |
| 5 | 3 | Chen Yanhao | China | 0.156 | 13.76 | |
| 6 | 4 | Tomáš Dvořák | Czech Republic | 0.146 | 13.78 | |
| 7 | 2 | Mickey Soto | Puerto Rico | 0.178 | 13.94 | |
| 8 | 7 | Judex Lefou | Mauritius | 0.220 | 14.69 | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.5 m/s | Wind: -0.5 m/s | Wind: -0.5 m/s |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Florian Schwarthoff | Germany | 0.210 | 13.39 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Erik Batte | Cuba | 0.222 | 13.47 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Andy Tulloch | Great Britain | 0.160 | 13.56 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Johan Lisabeth | Belgium | 0.166 | 13.72 | q |
| 5 | 2 | Claes Albihn | Sweden | 0.152 | 13.79 | |
| 6 | 1 | Moses Oyiki | Nigeria | 0.148 | 14.04 | |
| 7 | 4 | Sean Cahill | Ireland | 0.144 | 14.28 | |
| 8 | 6 | Yury Aristov | Uzbekistan | 0.200 | 15.04 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.2 m/s | Wind: +0.2 m/s | Wind: +0.2 m/s |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Mark Crear | United States | 0.221 | 13.44 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Anier García | Cuba | 0.159 | 13.56 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Sven Pieters | Belgium | 0.164 | 13.56 | Q |
| 4 | 3 | Gheorghe Boroi | Romania | 0.128 | 13.66 | q |
| 5 | 5 | Emerson Perin | Brazil | 0.181 | 13.76 | |
| 6 | 2 | Wagner Marseille | Haiti | 0.157 | 13.95 | |
| 7 | 7 | Herwig Röttl | Austria | 0.166 | 14.08 | |
| 8 | 4 | Fawaz Ismail Johar | Bahrain | 0.167 | 14.32 | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.0 m/s | Wind: +1.0 m/s | Wind: +1.0 m/s |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 8 | Colin Jackson | Great Britain | 0.140 | 13.36 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Eric Kaiser | Germany | 0.178 | 13.64 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Guntis Peders | Latvia | 0.143 | 13.72 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Frank Boateng | Ghana | 0.211 | 13.87 | |
| 5 | 7 | William Erese | Nigeria | 0.171 | 13.98 | |
| 6 | 6 | Joe Naivalu | Fiji | 0.156 | 14.23 | |
| — | 2 | Nur Herman Majid | Malaysia | DNS | DNS | |
| — | 1 | Curt Young | Panama | DNS | DNS | |
| | | | | Wind: -0.1 m/s | Wind: -0.1 m/s | Wind: -0.1 m/s |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Allen Johnson | United States | 0.172 | 13.66 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Krzysztof Mehlich | Poland | 0.200 | 13.81 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Walmes de Souza | Brazil | 0.192 | 13.82 | Q |
| 4 | 8 | Stelios Bisbas | Greece | 0.182 | 13.85 | |
| 5 | 5 | Antti Haapakoski | Finland | 0.152 | 13.90 | |
| 6 | 7 | Miguel de los Santos | Spain | 0.161 | 14.01 | |
| 7 | 1 | Steve Adegbite | Nigeria | 0.161 | 14.06 | |
| — | 2 | Henry Andrade | Cape Verde | 0.178 | DNF | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.3 m/s | Wind: +0.3 m/s | Wind: +0.3 m/s |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Tony Jarrett | Great Britain | 0.149 | 13.47 | Q |
| 2 | 1 | Vincent Clarico | France | 0.177 | 13.52 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Thomas Kearns | Ireland | 0.169 | 13.67 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Pedro Chiamulera | Brazil | 0.160 | 13.70 | q |
| 5 | 5 | Evgeny Pechonkin | Russia | 0.150 | 13.86 | |
| 6 | 2 | Elmar Lichtenegger | Austria | 0.184 | 14.03 | |
| 7 | 4 | Prodromos Katsantonis | Cyprus | 0.176 | 14.34 | |
| 8 | 3 | Hakim Mazou | Republic of the Congo | 0.193 | 14.52 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.2 m/s | Wind: +0.2 m/s | Wind: +0.2 m/s |

#### Heat 7

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Vander Kuyp | Australia | 0.156 | 13.32 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Emilio Valle | Cuba | 0.183 | 13.35 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Jonathan Nsenga | Belgium | 0.169 | 13.61 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Igors Kazanovs | Latvia | 0.145 | 13.74 | q |
| 5 | 2 | Tim Kroeker | Canada | 0.188 | 13.74 | q |
| 6 | 7 | Jesús Font | Spain | 0.172 | 13.90 | |
| 7 | 3 | Mahesh Perera | Sri Lanka | 0.201 | 14.24 | |
| 8 | 1 | José Riesco | Peru | 0.168 | 14.29 | |
| | | | | Wind: +2.3 m/s | Wind: +2.3 m/s | Wind: +2.3 m/s |

#### Heat 8

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Eugene Swift | United States | 0.161 | 13.36 | Q |
| 2 | 3 | Li Tong | China | 0.156 | 13.57 | Q |
| 3 | 6 | Robert Foster | Jamaica | 0.169 | 13.58 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Levente Csillag | Hungary | 0.185 | 13.64 | q |
| 5 | 5 | Emmanuel Romary | France | 0.161 | 13.68 | q |
| 6 | 4 | Carlos Sala | Spain | 0.153 | 13.94 | |
| 7 | 8 | Yeniya Shorokhov | Kyrgyzstan | 0.179 | 14.29 | |
| 8 | 1 | Paul Tucker | Guyana | 0.184 | 14.65 | |
| | | | | Wind: +2.8 m/s | Wind: +2.8 m/s | Wind: +2.8 m/s |

#### Overall results for round 1

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | Kyle Vander Kuyp | Australia | 13.32 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Emilio Valle | Cuba | 13.35 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Colin Jackson | Great Britain | 13.36 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Eugene Swift | United States | 13.36 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Florian Schwarthoff | Germany | 13.39 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | Mark Crear | United States | 13.44 | Q |
| 7 | 2 | Erik Batte | Cuba | 13.47 | Q |
| 7 | 6 | Tony Jarrett | Great Britain | 13.47 | Q |
| 9 | 6 | Vincent Clarico | France | 13.52 | Q |
| 10 | 2 | Andy Tulloch | Great Britain | 13.56 | Q |
| 10 | 3 | Anier García | Cuba | 13.56 | Q |
| 10 | 3 | Sven Pieters | Belgium | 13.56 | Q |
| 13 | 8 | Li Tong | China | 13.57 | Q |
| 14 | 8 | Robert Foster | Jamaica | 13.58 | Q |
| 15 | 7 | Jonathan Nsenga | Belgium | 13.61 | Q |
| 16 | 1 | Igor Kováč | Slovakia | 13.62 | Q |
| 17 | 4 | Eric Kaiser | Germany | 13.64 | Q |
| 17 | 8 | Levente Csillag | Hungary | 13.64 | q |
| 19 | 3 | Gheorghe Boroi | Romania | 13.66 | q |
| 19 | 5 | Allen Johnson | United States | 13.66 | Q |
| 21 | 6 | Thomas Kearns | Ireland | 13.67 | Q |
| 22 | 8 | Emmanuel Romary | France | 13.68 | q |
| 23 | 1 | Mark McKoy | Austria | 13.70 | Q |
| 23 | 6 | Pedro Chiamulera | Brazil | 13.70 | q |
| 25 | 2 | Johan Lisabeth | Belgium | 13.72 | q |
| 25 | 4 | Guntis Peders | Latvia | 13.72 | Q |
| 27 | 1 | Andrey Kislykh | Russia | 13.74 | Q |
| 27 | 1 | Claude Edorh | Germany | 13.74 | q |
| 27 | 7 | Igors Kazanovs | Latvia | 13.74 | q |
| 27 | 7 | Tim Kroeker | Canada | 13.74 | q |
| 31 | 1 | Chen Yanhao | China | 13.76 | |
| 31 | 3 | Emerson Perin | Brazil | 13.76 | |
| 33 | 1 | Tomáš Dvořák | Czech Republic | 13.78 | |
| 34 | 2 | Claes Albihn | Sweden | 13.79 | |
| 35 | 5 | Krzysztof Mehlich | Poland | 13.81 | Q |
| 36 | 5 | Walmes de Souza | Brazil | 13.82 | Q |
| 37 | 5 | Stelios Bisbas | Greece | 13.85 | |
| 38 | 6 | Evgeny Pechonkin | Russia | 13.86 | |
| 39 | 4 | Frank Boateng | Ghana | 13.87 | |
| 40 | 5 | Antti Haapakoski | Finland | 13.90 | |
| 40 | 7 | Jesús Font | Spain | 13.90 | |
| 42 | 1 | Mickey Soto | Puerto Rico | 13.94 | |
| 42 | 8 | Carlos Sala | Spain | 13.94 | |
| 44 | 3 | Wagner Marseille | Haiti | 13.95 | |
| 45 | 4 | William Erese | Nigeria | 13.98 | |
| 46 | 5 | Miguel de los Santos | Spain | 14.01 | |
| 47 | 6 | Elmar Lichtenegger | Austria | 14.03 | |
| 48 | 2 | Moses Oyiki | Nigeria | 14.04 | |
| 49 | 5 | Steve Adegbite | Nigeria | 14.06 | |
| 50 | 3 | Herwig Röttl | Austria | 14.08 | |
| 51 | 4 | Joe Naivalu | Fiji | 14.23 | |
| 52 | 7 | Mahesh Perera | Sri Lanka | 14.24 | |
| 53 | 2 | Sean Cahill | Ireland | 14.28 | |
| 54 | 7 | José Riesco | Peru | 14.29 | |
| 54 | 8 | Yeniya Shorokhov | Kyrgyzstan | 14.29 | |
| 56 | 3 | Fawaz Ismail Johar | Bahrain | 14.32 | |
| 57 | 6 | Prodromos Katsantonis | Cyprus | 14.34 | |
| 58 | 6 | Hakim Mazou | Republic of the Congo | 14.52 | |
| 59 | 8 | Paul Tucker | Guyana | 14.65 | |
| 60 | 1 | Judex Lefou | Mauritius | 14.69 | |
| 61 | 2 | Yury Aristov | Uzbekistan | 15.04 | |
| — | 5 | Henry Andrade | Cape Verde | DNF | |
| — | 4 | Nur Herman Majid | Malaysia | DNS | |
| — | 4 | Curt Young | Panama | DNS | |

### Quarterfinals
#### Quarterfinal 1

Jarrett's obstruction of Kaiser resulted in Jarrett being disqualified and Kaiser advancing to the semifinals despite not finishing the race.
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Eugene Swift | United States | 0.155 | 13.37 | Q |
| 2 | 7 | Robert Foster | Jamaica | 0.156 | 13.51 | Q |
| 3 | 8 | Johan Lisabeth | Belgium | 0.156 | 13.53 | Q |
| 4 | 5 | Vincent Clarico | France | 0.167 | 13.57 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Guntis Peders | Latvia | 0.151 | 13.59 | |
| 6 | 1 | Pedro Chiamulera | Brazil | 0.176 | 13.77 | |
| — | 3 | Eric Kaiser | Germany | 0.149 | DNF | q |
| — | 4 | Tony Jarrett | Great Britain | 0.139 | DSQ | R163.2 |
| | | | | Wind: +1.2 m/s | Wind: +1.2 m/s | Wind: +1.2 m/s |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Crear | United States | 0.127 | 13.14 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Florian Schwarthoff | Germany | 0.165 | 13.27 | Q |
| 3 | 1 | Igors Kazanovs | Latvia | 0.139 | 13.42 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Li Tong | China | 0.180 | 13.43 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Thomas Kearns | Ireland | 0.119 | 13.55 | |
| 6 | 3 | Anier García | Cuba | 0.164 | 13.58 | |
| 7 | 8 | Jonathan Nsenga | Belgium | 0.176 | 13.63 | |
| 8 | 7 | Emmanuel Romary | France | 0.173 | 13.81 | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.1 m/s | Wind: +1.1 m/s | Wind: +1.1 m/s |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Colin Jackson | Great Britain | 0.126 | 13.33 | Q |
| 2 | 8 | Sven Pieters | Belgium | 0.160 | 13.36 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Erik Batte | Cuba | 0.208 | 13.46 | Q |
| 4 | 2 | Gheorghe Boroi | Romania | 0.149 | 13.56 | Q |
| 5 | 6 | Mark McKoy | Austria | 0.166 | 13.64 | |
| 6 | 1 | Claude Edorh | Germany | 0.170 | 13.64 | |
| 7 | 5 | Igor Kováč | Slovakia | 0.190 | 13.70 | |
| 8 | 7 | Andrey Kislykh | Russia | 0.145 | 13.74 | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.4 m/s | Wind: +1.4 m/s | Wind: +1.4 m/s |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 3 | Allen Johnson | United States | 0.173 | 13.27 | Q |
| 2 | 5 | Emilio Valle | Cuba | 0.198 | 13.29 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Kyle Vander Kuyp | Australia | 0.152 | 13.49 | Q |
| 4 | 6 | Krzysztof Mehlich | Poland | 0.183 | 13.51 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Levente Csillag | Hungary | 0.147 | 13.61 | |
| 6 | 2 | Andy Tulloch | Great Britain | 0.169 | 13.68 | |
| 7 | 1 | Walmes de Souza | Brazil | 0.214 | 14.12 | |
| 8 | 7 | Tim Kroeker | Canada | 0.168 | 14.14 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s | Wind: +0.1 m/s |

#### Overall results for quarterfinals

| Rank | Heat | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Mark Crear | United States | 13.14 | Q |
| 2 | 2 | Florian Schwarthoff | Germany | 13.27 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Allen Johnson | United States | 13.27 | Q |
| 4 | 4 | Emilio Valle | Cuba | 13.29 | Q |
| 5 | 3 | Colin Jackson | Great Britain | 13.33 | Q |
| 6 | 3 | Sven Pieters | Belgium | 13.36 | Q |
| 7 | 1 | Eugene Swift | United States | 13.37 | Q |
| 8 | 2 | Igors Kazanovs | Latvia | 13.42 | Q |
| 9 | 2 | Li Tong | China | 13.43 | Q |
| 10 | 3 | Erik Batte | Cuba | 13.46 | Q |
| 11 | 4 | Kyle Vander Kuyp | Australia | 13.49 | Q |
| 12 | 1 | Robert Foster | Jamaica | 13.51 | Q |
| 12 | 4 | Krzysztof Mehlich | Poland | 13.51 | Q |
| 14 | 1 | Johan Lisabeth | Belgium | 13.53 | Q |
| 15 | 2 | Thomas Kearns | Ireland | 13.55 | |
| 16 | 3 | Gheorghe Boroi | Romania | 13.56 | Q |
| 17 | 1 | Vincent Clarico | France | 13.57 | Q |
| 18 | 2 | Anier García | Cuba | 13.58 | |
| 19 | 1 | Guntis Peders | Latvia | 13.59 | |
| 20 | 4 | Levente Csillag | Hungary | 13.61 | |
| 21 | 2 | Jonathan Nsenga | Belgium | 13.63 | |
| 22 | 3 | Mark McKoy | Austria | 13.64 | |
| 23 | 3 | Claude Edorh | Germany | 13.64 | |
| 24 | 4 | Andy Tulloch | Great Britain | 13.68 | |
| 25 | 3 | Igor Kováč | Slovakia | 13.70 | |
| 26 | 3 | Andrey Kislykh | Russia | 13.74 | |
| 27 | 1 | Pedro Chiamulera | Brazil | 13.77 | |
| 28 | 2 | Emmanuel Romary | France | 13.81 | |
| 29 | 4 | Walmes de Souza | Brazil | 14.12 | |
| 30 | 4 | Tim Kroeker | Canada | 14.14 | |
| — | 1 | Eric Kaiser | Germany | DNF | q |
| — | 1 | Tony Jarrett | Great Britain | DSQ | R163.2 |

### Semifinals
#### Semifinal 1

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 5 | Allen Johnson | United States | 0.194 | 13.10 | Q |
| 2 | 6 | Colin Jackson | Great Britain | 0.139 | 13.17 | Q |
| 3 | 4 | Emilio Valle | Cuba | 0.198 | 13.18 | Q |
| 4 | 7 | Kyle Vander-Kuyp | Australia | 0.156 | 13.38 | Q |
| 5 | 8 | Krzysztof Mehlich | Poland | 0.189 | 13.55 | |
| 6 | 1 | Gheorghe Boroi | Romania | 0.137 | 13.57 | |
| 7 | 3 | Sven Pieters | Belgium | 0.136 | 13.59 | |
| 8 | 9 | Eric Kaiser | Germany | 0.168 | 13.59 | |
| 9 | 2 | Li Tong | China | 0.143 | 13.60 | |
| | | | | Wind: +0.5 m/s | Wind: +0.5 m/s | Wind: +0.5 m/s |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Florian Schwarthoff | Germany | 0.156 | 13.13 | Q |
| 2 | 4 | Eugene Swift | United States | 0.158 | 13.21 | Q |
| 3 | 3 | Mark Crear | United States | 0.194 | 13.22 | Q |
| 4 | 8 | Erik Batte | Cuba | 0.168 | 13.26 | Q |
| 5 | 2 | Vincent Clarico | France | 0.173 | 13.43 | |
| 6 | 5 | Robert Foster | Jamaica | 0.182 | 13.49 | |
| 7 | 1 | Igors Kazanovs | Latvia | 0.172 | 14.13 | |
| — | 7 | Johan Lisabeth | Belgium | 0.155 | DNF | |
| | | | | Wind: +1.7 m/s | Wind: +1.7 m/s | Wind: +1.7 m/s |

### Final

| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Reaction | Time |
| | 6 | Allen Johnson | United States | 0.170 | 12.95 OR |
| | 8 | Mark Crear | United States | 0.124 | 13.09 |
| | 3 | Florian Schwarthoff | Germany | 0.164 | 13.17 |
| 4 | 5 | Colin Jackson | Great Britain | 0.133 | 13.19 |
| 5 | 7 | Emilio Valle | Cuba | 0.179 | 13.20 |
| 6 | 4 | Eugene Swift | United States | 0.151 | 13.23 |
| 7 | 2 | Kyle Vander-Kuyp | Australia | 0.160 | 13.40 |
| 8 | 1 | Erik Batte | Cuba | 0.160 | 13.43 |
| | | | | Wind: +0.6 m/s | Wind: +0.6 m/s |