The 1996 Olympics were meant to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics. Instead, terrorism, logistical nightmares and over-the-top commercialism marred the event.
What took place in the early morning hours of July 27 left a lasting memory on the Atlanta Games. For the first time in 24 years, terrorism reared its ugly head at the Olympics.
Not since the 1972 murders of 11 Israeli athletes had there been such violence at the event hailed as a symbol of world peace.
The Numbers
Number of nations: 197
Number of athletes: 10,138 (3,512 women, 6,806 men)
Number of sports: 26
Number of events: 271
Number of media: 15,108
Number of nations winning gold medals: 53
First athlete to win the same event four straight times: Carl Lewis, U.S. (Long jump)
First athlete to compete in nine Olympics: Hubert Raudaschl, Austria (Sailing)
On day nine of the Atlanta Olympics, a bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, leaving two people dead and more than a hundred injured. Richard Jewell, a security officer at the Games, who had found the bomb, was wrongfully fingered as a suspect, and became the target of a media witch-hunt for the culprit.
Clinton was President during the Atlanta Olympics.
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