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82-975: The federation organizes three volleyball leagues and one Turkey cup for men's and women's teams each. Turkish clubs and national teams participate after qualification at the Olympics , Mediterranean Games , Balkan Games as well as world and European events of following competitions: The federation forms the men's and women's national teams, which take part at international events. The federation owns volleyball venues TVF 50th Anniversary Sport Hall and TVF Burhan Felek Sport Hall in Üsküdar , Istanbul and Başkent Volleyball Hall in Yenimahalle, Ankara . In 2009, it established TVF Fine Arts and Sports High School ( Turkish : TVF Güzel Sanatlar ve Spor Lisesi ) in Ankara, dedicated to raise talented youth to sportspeople particularly in volleyball. Volleyball at

164-509: A Jeopardy! international tournament , and three weeks of Wheel of Fortune episodes filmed on-location at Atlanta's Fox Theatre . The Games were affected by several instances of ambush marketing —in which companies attempt to use the Games as a means to promote their brand, in competition with the exclusive, category-based sponsorship rights issued by the Atlanta organizing committee and

246-467: A commemorative plaque was unveiled for Centennial Olympic Park to honor the 20th anniversary of the Games. Following the Braves' departure from Turner Field to Truist Park in 2017, Georgia State University acquired the former Olympic Stadium and surrounding parking lots. It reconfigured the stadium for a second time into Center Parc Stadium for its college football team . The 1996 Olympic cauldron

328-584: A 3–1 victory over Bulgaria . With a Soviet-led boycott in 1984 , the United States confirmed their new volleyball leadership in the Western World by sweeping smoothly over Brazil in the finals. In that edition a minor nation, Italy , won their first medal, but Italy would rise to prominence in volleyball in later decades. A long-awaited confrontation between the US and Soviet volleyball teams came in

410-723: A British colony (1842–1997). This meant that for the only time, the colonial flag of Hong Kong was raised to the accompaniment of the British national anthem " God Save the Queen ", as Hong Kong's sovereignty was later transferred to China in 1997. The U.S. women's soccer team won the gold medal in the first-ever women's football event. For the first time, Olympic medals were won by athletes from Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Burundi , Czech Republic , Ecuador , Georgia , Hong Kong , Kazakhstan , Moldova , Mozambique , Slovakia , Tonga , Ukraine , and Uzbekistan . Another first in Atlanta

492-574: A final. Italy defeated Bulgaria and took Bronze. After coming up short in the previous two editions of the Olympics as runners-up, the Brazilians captured their third gold medal in the history of the competition playing home in 2016 after their straight-set victory against Italy in the final. The United States pulled off a comeback from a 0–2 deficit to claim the bronze medal with a victory over Russia. The 2020 tournament , held in 2021 due to

574-425: A four-year suspension in 1998 for tampering with a urine sample, though her medals and records were allowed to stand. In track and field, Donovan Bailey of Canada won the men's 100 m, setting a new world record of 9.84 seconds at that time. He also anchored his team's gold in the 4 × 100 m relay . Michael Johnson won gold in both the 200 m and 400 m, setting a new world record of 19.32 seconds in

656-719: A lasting impact on the city; Centennial Olympic Park led a revitalization of Atlanta's downtown area , and has served as a symbol of the legacy of the 1996 Games; the Olympic Village buildings have since been used as residential housing for area universities; and the Centennial Olympic Stadium has since been redeveloped twice, first as the Turner Field baseball stadium, then as the Center Parc American football stadium. Atlanta

738-579: A local cauldron lighting event on the first day of the Games (headlined by a performance by country musician Trisha Yearwood ). In 1994, African-American artist Kevin Cole was commissioned to create the Coca-Cola Centennial Olympic Mural, and the 15-story mural took two years to complete. The ceremony began with a 60-second countdown, which included footage from all of the previous Olympic Games at twenty-two seconds. There

820-580: A new IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating, even-numbered years. The 1996 Games were the first of the two consecutive Summer Olympics to be held in a predominantly English-speaking country , preceding the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. These were also the last Summer Olympics to be held in North America until 2028 , when Los Angeles will host

902-564: A set, the team was, however, stunned by a young Chinese squad in a tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. China went on to win the title, their third in Olympic history, by beating Serbia in four sets in the gold medal match. In the process, Lang Ping became the first person to win a gold medal as a player in Los Angeles 1984 and repeat the feat now as a coach in Rio de Janeiro. China also became

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984-594: A statement, saying: "the purpose of the attack on July 27th was to confound, anger and embarrass the Washington government in the eyes of the world for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand." He received four life sentences without parole , to be served at USP Florence ADMAX near Florence, Colorado . Preparations for the Olympics lasted more than seven years and had an economic impact of at least US$ 5.14 billion. Over two million visitors came to Atlanta, and approximately 3.5 billion people around

1066-489: A successful 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and Melbourne, Australia, who hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics and after Brisbane, Australia 's failed bid for the 1992 games (which were awarded to Barcelona ) and prior to Sydney, Australia 's successful 2000 Summer Olympics bid. This would be Toronto's fourth failed attempt since 1960 (tried in 1960, 1964, and 1976, but was defeated by Rome, Tokyo and Montreal). Greece ,

1148-563: A team rhythmic gymnastics event. In women's gymnastics, Ukrainian Lilia Podkopayeva became the all-around Olympic champion. Podkopayeva also won a second gold medal in the floor exercise final and a silver on the beam – becoming the only female gymnast since Nadia Comăneci to win an individual event gold after winning the all-around title in the same Olympics. Kerri Strug of the United States women's gymnastics team vaulted with an injured ankle and landed on one foot, winning

1230-465: The 1968 Olympics , but this was met with protest. The volleyball Olympic tournament was originally a simple competition, whose format paralleled the one still employed in the World Cup : all teams played against each other team and then were ranked by number of wins, set average and point average. One disadvantage of this round-robin system is that medal winners could be determined before the end of

1312-536: The 1988 final: powerplayers Karch Kiraly and Steve Timmons pushed the United States to a second gold medal setting the issue in favor of the Americans. In 1992 , Brazil upset favorites Unified Team , Netherlands , and Italy for their first Olympic championship. Runners-up Netherlands, with Ron Zwerver and Olof van der Meulen , came back in the following edition for a five-set win over Italy. In spite of their success in other major volleyball competitions in

1394-460: The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer ) were: Armenia , Belarus , Czech Republic , Georgia , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Moldova , Slovakia , Ukraine and Uzbekistan . The Czech Republic and Slovakia attended the games as independent nations for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia , while the rest of the nations that made their Summer Olympic debut were formerly part of

1476-529: The 2004 Summer Olympics seven years later on September 5, 1997. The total cost of the 1996 Summer Olympics was estimated to be around US$ 1.7 billion. The venues and the Games themselves were funded entirely via private investment, and the only public funding came from the U.S. government for security, and around $ 500 million of public money used on physical public infrastructure including streetscaping, road improvements, Centennial Olympic Park (alongside $ 75 million in private funding), expansion of

1558-405: The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, have caused some to offer more positive reappraisals of the management of the 1996 Summer Games. Former JPMorgan Chase president (and torchbearer) Kabir Sehgal noted that in contrast to many later Olympics, those of 1996 were financially viable, had a positive economic impact on the city, and most of the facilities constructed continued to be used after

1640-587: The Soviet Union . 10,339 athletes from 197 NOCs participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics. The 1996 Olympics were marred by the Centennial Olympic Park bombing , which occurred on July 27. Security guard Richard Jewell discovered the pipe bomb and immediately notified law enforcement, helping to evacuate as many people as possible from the area before it exploded. Although Jewell's quick actions are credited for saving many lives,

1722-471: The Women's artistic gymnastics team all-around . The Games were marred by violence on July 27, 1996, when a pipe bomb was detonated at Centennial Olympic Park (which had been built to serve as a public focal point for the festivities), killing two and injuring 111. Years later, Eric Rudolph confessed to the bombing and a series of related terrorist attacks, and was sentenced to life in prison. Nonetheless,

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1804-483: The closing ceremony , IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said in his closing speech, "Well done, Atlanta" and simply called the Games "most exceptional." This broke precedent for Samaranch, who had traditionally labeled each Games "the best Olympics ever" at each closing ceremony, a practice he resumed at the subsequent Winter Games in Nagano in 1998 . A report prepared after the Games by European Olympic officials

1886-400: The 1990s, Italy did not fare well at the Olympics. After winning bronze in Atlanta, Serbia and Montenegro , led by Vladimir and Nikola Grbić , beat Russia at the final in 2000 to secure the gold (in 1996 and 2000 they played under the name Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ). In 2004 , Brazil beat Italy in the final, adding a second gold medal to their record and confirming their role as

1968-439: The 1992 Summer Games Afghanistan and Cambodia returned to send delegations to Atlanta. The 14 countries making their Olympic debut were: Azerbaijan , Burundi , Cape Verde , Comoros , Dominica , Guinea-Bissau , Macedonia , Nauru , Palestinian Authority , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia , São Tomé and Príncipe , Tajikistan and Turkmenistan . The ten countries making their Summer Olympic debut (after competing at

2050-444: The 1996 Olympics turned a profit, helped by record revenue from sponsorship deals and broadcast rights, and a reliance on private funding, among other factors. There were 8.3 million tickets sold for events at this Olympics, a record broken only in 2024. There was some criticism of the perceived over-commercialization of the Games, with other issues raised by European officials, such as the availability of food and transport. The event had

2132-461: The 200 m. Marie-José Pérec equaled Johnson's performance, although without a world record, by winning the rare 200 m/400 m double. Carl Lewis won his 4th long jump gold medal at the age of 35. In tennis, Andre Agassi won the gold medal, which would eventually make him the first man and second singles player overall (after his eventual wife, Steffi Graf ) to win the career Golden Slam , which consists of an Olympic gold medal and victories in

2214-545: The American Meter Company and electroplated by Erie Plating Company . Each torch weighed about 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg) and was made primarily of aluminum, with a Georgia pecan wood handle and gold ornamentation. The 1996 Summer Olympic program featured 271 events in 26 sports. Softball , beach volleyball and mountain biking debuted on the Olympic program, together with women's football , lightweight rowing , women's swimming , women's fencing , and

2296-651: The American youth and a typical Saturday college football game in the South, including the wave commonly produced by spectators in sporting events around the world. There was another showcase entitled "Summertime" which focused on Atlanta and the Old South , emphasizing its beauty, spirit, music, history, culture, and rebirth after the American Civil War . The ceremony also featured a memorable dance tribute to

2378-634: The Athletes' Village, which distributed Nike-branded flags to visitors (presumably to be used at events). IOC marketing director Michael Payne expressed concern for the campaign, believing that athletes could perceive them as being an insult to their accomplishments. Payne and the United States Olympic Committee 's marketing director, John Krimsky, met with Howard Slusher, a subordinate of Nike co-founder Phil Knight . The meeting quickly turned aggressive, with Payne warning that

2460-750: The Dream ", accompanied by Foster on the piano, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Centennial Choir (comprising Morehouse College Glee Club , Spelman College Glee Club and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus). Gladys Knight sang Georgia's official state song , " Georgia on My Mind ". There was a showcase entitled "Welcome To The World", featuring cheerleaders , Chevrolet pick-up trucks , marching bands , and steppers , which highlighted

2542-607: The French Open title in 1999, making him the first men's singles tennis player to complete the Golden Slam ; Donovan Bailey , who set a new world record of 9.84 for the men's 100 meters ; Lilia Podkopayeva , who became the second gymnast to win an individual event gold medal after winning the all-around title in the same Olympics; and the Magnificent Seven , who dramatically won the first ever U.S. gold medal in

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2624-563: The Games were held in Atlanta. The 1996 Summer Olympics relied heavily on commercial sponsorship. The Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company was the exclusive provider of soft drinks at Olympics venues, and built an attraction known as Coca-Cola Olympic City for the Games. As part of a sponsorship agreement with Columbia TriStar Television , the syndicated game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune both produced episodes with Olympics tie-ins (including branded memorabilia and contests) for broadcast between April and July 1996. These included

2706-465: The Games. Sehgal contrasted the 1996 Games' "grassroots" effort backed almost entirely by private funding, with the only significant public spending coming from infrastructure associated with the Games, to modern "top-down" bids, instigated by local governments and reliant on taxpayer funding, making them unpopular among citizens who may not necessarily be interested. The 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will rely almost entirely on private funding, with

2788-596: The IOC (which grants the rights to use Olympics-related terms and emblems in marketing). The Atlanta organizing committee threatened legal actions against advertisers whose marketing implied an official association with the Games. Several non-sponsors set up marketing activities in areas near venues, such as Samsung (competing with Motorola ), which ambushed the Games with its "96 Expo". The city of Atlanta had also licensed street vendors to sell products from competitors to Olympic sponsors. The most controversial ambush campaign

2870-485: The IOC could pull accreditation for Nike employees and ban the display of its logos on equipment; he also threatened to organize a press conference where silver medallists from the Games, as well as prominent Nike-sponsored athlete Michael Johnson (who attracted attention during the Games for wearing custom, gold-colored Nike shoes), would denounce the company. Faced with these threats, Nike agreed to retract most of its negative advertising and public relations stunts. At

2952-462: The Olympic swimming pool, the first American woman to win four titles in a single Olympiad. Penny Heyns , swimmer of South Africa, won the gold medals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events. Michelle Smith of Ireland won three gold medals and a bronze in swimming. She remains her nation's most decorated Olympian. However, her victories were overshadowed by doping allegations even though she did not test positive in 1996. She received

3034-817: The Olympic Village, which became the first residential housing for Georgia State University (Georgia State Village), are now used by the Georgia Institute of Technology (North Avenue Apartments). As designed, the Centennial Olympic Stadium was converted into Turner Field after the Paralympics, which became the home of the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball team from 1997 to 2016. The Braves' former home, Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium ,

3116-461: The Olympic rings while the youth of Atlanta formed the number 100. Famed film score composer John Williams wrote the official overture for the 1996 Olympics, called " Summon the Heroes "; this was his second overture for Olympic games, the first being " Olympic Fanfare and Theme " written for the 1984 Summer Olympics . Céline Dion performed David Foster 's official 1996 Olympics song " The Power of

3198-629: The Olympics in 1996 we will never bid again to host them." However, the Athens bid was described as "arrogant and poorly prepared," being regarded as "not being up to the task of coping with the modern and risk-prone extravaganza" of the current Games. Athens faced numerous obstacles, including "political instability, potential security problems, air pollution, traffic congestion and the fact that it would have to spend about US$ 3 billion to improve its infrastructure of airports, roads, rail lines and other amenities." Athens would later be selected to host

3280-483: The South helped to impress the IOC officials. Coca-Cola , a long-standing partner of the Olympics, was also a strong advocate to bring the Games to its hometown. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) also proposed a substantial revenue-sharing with the IOC, USOC, and other NOCs. Atlanta's main rivals were Toronto, whose front-running bid that began in 1986 had chances to succeed after Canada had held

3362-477: The Southeast. The Olympiad's official theme, "Summon the Heroes", was written by John Williams , making it the third Olympiad at that point for which he had composed (official composer in 1984, NBC's coverage composer in 1988). The opening ceremony featured Céline Dion singing " The Power of the Dream ", the theme song of the 1996 Olympics. The closing ceremony featured Gloria Estefan singing " Reach ",

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3444-631: The Summer Games since 1960 is $ 5.2 billion. Unlike Atlanta 1996, Beijing and Sochi were primarily funded by their respective governments. Events of the 1996 Games were held in a variety of areas. A number were held within the Olympic Ring, a 3 mi (4.8 km) circle from the center of Atlanta. Others were held at Stone Mountain , about 20 miles (32 km) outside of the city. To broaden ticket sales, other events, such as Association football (soccer), were staged in various cities in

3526-658: The Summer Olympics Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics program for both men and women consistently since 1964 . Brazil , France , the United States and the former Soviet Union are the only teams to win multiple gold medals at the men's tournament since its introduction. The remaining six editions of the Men's Olympic Volleyball Tournament were won each by a different country including Japan , Poland , Netherlands , Russia and

3608-567: The airport, improvements in public transportation, and redevelopment of public housing projects. $ 420 million worth of tickets were sold, sale of sponsorship rights accounted for $ 540 million, and sale of the domestic broadcast rights to NBC accounted for $ 456 million. In total, the Games turned a profit of $ 19 million. The cost for Atlanta 1996 compares with costs of $ 4.6 billion for Rio 2016, $ 40–44 billion for Beijing 2008, and $ 51 billion for Sochi 2014 (the most expensive Olympics in history). The average cost for

3690-468: The athletes and to the goddesses of victory of the ancient Greek Olympics, using silhouette imagery. The accompanying music, "The Tradition of the Games", was composed by Basil Poledouris . Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic cauldron and later received a replacement gold medal for his boxing victory in the 1960 Summer Olympics . For the torch ceremony, more than 10,000 Olympic torches were manufactured by

3772-648: The bombing killed spectator Alice Hawthorne, wounded 111 others, and caused the death of Melih Uzunyol by a heart attack. Jewell was later considered a suspect in the bombing but was never charged, and he was cleared in October 1996. Fugitive Eric Rudolph was arrested in May 2003 and charged with the Olympic Park bombing as well as the bombings of two abortion clinics and a gay nightclub . At his trial two years later, he confessed to all charges and afterwards released

3854-461: The competition. China were awarded the bronze by beating Cuba. After a troubled start, Brazil secured the double gold in 2012 after beating the United States once again in the final. Japan won the bronze medal after defeating South Korea. In 2016 , home team Brazil were favorites to once again win the title, thus equalling Cuba's three consecutive gold medals between 1992 and 2000. After winning all of their preliminary round matches without dropping

3936-504: The defunct Yugoslavia . Gold medals are less evenly distributed in women's volleyball than in men's; the sixteen editions of the Women's Olympic Volleyball Tournament were won by seven countries: Brazil , Cuba , China , Japan , Italy , the United States and the former Soviet Union . The history of Olympic volleyball can be traced back to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris , where it

4018-421: The display of advertising within venues, and that "you have to look to the private sector for at least a portion of the funding, and unless you're looking for handouts, you're dealing with people who are investing business assets, and they have to get a return." In 1997, Athens was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympics . Along with addressing the shortcomings of its 1996 bid, it was lauded for its efforts to promote

4100-513: The first team to win the Olympics after losing three matches in the preliminary round. The United States defeated the Netherlands 3–1 to capture the bronze medal. In the fifteenth edition of the games in 2020, the United States faced Brazil for the third final in four editions, only this time they broke the long title drought. Thus the Americans became only the sixth country to win the women's tournament, after Brazil, China, Cuba, Japan, and

4182-464: The first time as independent nations. With a total of 101 medals, the United States topped both the gold and overall medal count for the first time since 1984 (and for the first time since 1968 in a non-boycotted Summer Olympics), also winning the most gold (44) and silver (32) medals out of all the participating nations. Notable performances during the competition included those of Andre Agassi , whose gold medal in these Games would be followed up with

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4264-492: The first women's team gold medal for the US. Shannon Miller won the gold medal on the balance beam event, the first time an American gymnast had won an individual gold medal in non-boycotted Olympic games. The Spanish team won the first gold medal in the new competition of women's rhythmic group all-around . The team was formed by Estela Giménez , Marta Baldó , Nuria Cabanillas , Lorena Guréndez , Estíbaliz Martínez and Tania Lamarca . Amy Van Dyken won four gold medals in

4346-540: The former Olympic Stadium and surrounding lots, there has been proposals and growing calls to move the Olympic cauldron to Centennial Olympic Park . The Olympic cauldron was re-lit in February 2020 for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. The 1996 Olympics are the most recent edition of the Summer Olympics to be held in the United States. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics , 32 years after

4428-773: The former Soviet Union. Serbia got the bronze, beating South Korea. The volleyball Olympic tournament has a very stable competition formula. The following rules apply: Sources: 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad , also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games ) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta , Georgia , United States . These were

4510-502: The fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States, making it the first country to have three different cities host the Summer Olympics. It also marked the 100th anniversary of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games . These were also the first Summer Olympics to be held in a different year than the Winter Olympics since the Winter Olympics commenced in 1924, as part of

4592-504: The games for the third time. 10,318 athletes from 197 National Olympic Committees competed in 26 sports, including the Olympic debuts of beach volleyball , mountain biking and softball , as well as the new disciplines of lightweight rowing , women's swimming 4 x 200 freestyle relay , women's fencing , team rhythmic gymnastics , and women's association football . A total of 24 countries made their Summer Olympic debuts in Atlanta, including 11 former Soviet republics participating for

4674-432: The games has grown steadily since 1964. Since 1996 , both men's and women's indoor events count 12 participant nations. Each of the five continental volleyball confederations has at least one affiliated national federation involved in the Olympic Games. The first two editions of the volleyball Olympic tournament were won by the Soviet Union team. Bronze in 1964 and silver in 1968 , Japan won gold in 1972 . In 1976 ,

4756-438: The games, making the audience lose interest in the outcome of the remaining matches. To cope with this situation, the competition was split into two phases: a "final round" was introduced, consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Since its creation in 1972 , this new system has become the standard for the volleyball Olympic tournament, and is usually referred to as the "Olympic format". The number of teams involved in

4838-587: The games. As a result, the Soviet Union easily secured a third Olympic gold medal. In 1984 , the Eastern bloc was, in its turn, boycotting the games, and the Soviet Union did not participate. As a result, host nation United States won its first medals in volleyball, losing the finals to China . With eastern and western nations again involved in the Olympics, the Soviet Union obtained a remarkable victory over Peru after trailing 0–2 in 1988's marking one of

4920-597: The global COVID-19 pandemic causing a delay, had the French team of Earvin N'Gapeth win its first gold by defeating the Russian Olympic Committee, who returned to the podium after missing out in 2016. In a repeat of the 1988 bronze medal match, Brazil were upset by neighbor Argentina. Gold medals appear to be more evenly distributed in men's volleyball than in women's: the former Soviet Union (three titles), United States (three) and Brazil (three) are

5002-582: The highest, while IOC members said that it could guarantee large television revenues similar to the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles , the most recent Olympics in the United States. Additionally, former US ambassador to the UN and Atlanta mayor Andrew Young touted Atlanta's civil rights history and reputation for racial harmony. Young also wanted to showcase a reformed American South . The strong economy of Atlanta and improved race relations in

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5084-520: The home of the ancient and first modern Olympics , was considered by many observers the "natural choice" for the Centennial Games, due to its "divine right" in history. Athens bid chairman Spyros Metaxas gave repeated warnings to the IOC and demanded to give them the games to mark the centennial, saying "You don't hold a 100th birthday in someone else's home. The Centenary Games should be held in Athens." He also warned that "if we don't get

5166-453: The host nation Japan . There followed two victories in a row by the Soviet Union , in 1968 and 1972 . South Korea were expected to get their first gold after beating Japan in the 1975 Pre-Olympic Games, but Japan came back again in 1976 for one last Olympic gold before losing their status of women's volleyball superpowers. The American-led boycott of the 1980 Games left many strong volleyball nations like Japan and South Korea out of

5248-608: The introduction of a new offensive skill, the back row attack, helped Poland win the competition over the Soviets in a very tight five-setter. In 1980 , many of the strongest teams in men's volleyball belonged to the Eastern Bloc , so the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics did not have as great an effect on these events as it had on the women's. The Soviet Union collected their third Olympic gold medal with

5330-418: The men's volleyball superpowers of the 2000s. In 2008 , United States beat Brazil in the final, winning their third gold medal. Russia won the bronze for the second time by defeating Italy. In the 2012 final, Russia came back from a 0–2 set deficit, not letting the Brazilians take advantage of any of their 2 match points in the third set. Dmitriy Muserskiy scored 31 points, which is an Olympic Games record in

5412-504: The most dramatic female matches of the 20th century. The 1988 games were, however, boycotted by Cuba , who would become the next dominating force. 1992 saw a new force go down in Olympic history: organized under the name Unified Team , the nations of the former Soviet Union that chose to form a combined team easily reached the gold medal game, but could not neutralize the power play of the young, rising Cuban squad. Led by superstars Mireya Luis and Regla Torres , Cuba would eventually set

5494-559: The official theme song of the 1996 Olympics. The mascot for the Olympiad was an abstract, animated character named Izzy . In contrast to the standing tradition of mascots of national or regional significance in the city hosting the Olympiad, Izzy was an amorphous, fantasy figure. A video game featuring the Games' mascot, Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings , was also released. Atlanta's Olympic slogan "Come Celebrate Our Dream"

5576-403: The only teams to have won the tournament more than once. The remaining six editions were won each by a different country. Despite having been a major force in men's volleyball since the 1990s and never missing a tournament since 1976, Italy are the only volleyball powerhouse that lack a gold medal at the Olympic Games. The opening edition of the volleyball Olympic tournament, in 1964 , was won by

5658-476: The record for consecutive wins in the Olympic Games by also taking the gold in 1996 and 2000 against China and Russia , respectively. In 2004 , the winners were once again China. Second were Russia who beat Brazil in a very tough and dramatic semifinal match after being down 1–2, 19–24 in the fourth set. In 2008 , Brazil finally won the gold, beating the United States in the final and losing only one set in

5740-503: The singles tournaments held at professional tennis' four major events ( Australian Open , French Open , Wimbledon , and US Open ). There were a series of national firsts realized during the Games. Deon Hemmings became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal for Jamaica and the English-speaking West Indies . Lee Lai Shan won a gold medal in sailing, the only Olympic medal that Hong Kong ever won as

5822-520: The traditional values of the Olympic Games, which some IOC observers felt had been lost due to the over-commercialization of the 1996 Games. However, the 2004 Games heavily relied on public funding and eventually failed to make a profit, which some have claimed contributed to the financial crisis in Greece . The financial struggles faced by many later Games, such as the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and

5904-488: The world watched at least some of the events on television. Although marred by the tragedy of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing , the Games were a financial success, due in part to TV rights contracts and sponsorships at record levels. Atlanta also set a new record for the most tickets sold at a single Games (8.3 million), and held it until 2024. Beyond international recognition, the Games resulted in many modern infrastructure improvements. The mid-rise dormitories built for

5986-661: Was about 10,318. Twenty-four countries made their Olympic debut this year, including eleven of the ex-Soviet countries that competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992 . Russia participated in the Summer Olympics separately from the other countries of the former Soviet Union for the first time since 1912 (when it was the Russian Empire ). Russia had been a member of the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics together with 11 post-Soviet states. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia competed as Yugoslavia . After missing

6068-572: Was an unofficial demonstration event. Its addition to the Olympic program, however, was given only after World War II , with the foundation of the FIVB and of some of the continental confederations. In 1957, a special tournament was held during the 53rd IOC session in Sofia , Bulgaria , to support such request. The competition was a success, and the sport was officially introduced in 1964 . The International Olympic Committee attempted to drop volleyball for

6150-409: Was critical of Atlanta's performance in several key areas, including the level of crowding in the Olympic Village, the quality of available food, the accessibility and convenience of transportation, and the Games' general atmosphere of commercialism. IOC vice-president Dick Pound responded to criticism of the commercialization of these Games, stating that they still adhered to a historic policy barring

6232-489: Was demolished in 1997 and the site became a parking lot for Turner Field; the Omni Coliseum was demolished the same year to make way for State Farm Arena . The city's permanent memorial to the 1996 Olympics is Centennial Olympic Park , which was built as a focal point for the Games. The park initiated a revitalization of the surrounding area and now serves as the hub for Atlanta's tourism district. In November 2016,

6314-409: Was originally built and placed at the intersection of Fulton Street and Capitol Avenue, near the Centennial Olympic Stadium. After the Paralympics, in order to make room for the stadium conversion, the Olympic cauldron was moved (except its ramp, which was demolished) to the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Fulton Street in 1997, where it has stayed since. Since Georgia State University's acquisition of

6396-556: Was selected on September 18, 1990, in Tokyo, Japan , over Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne, and Toronto at the 96th IOC Session . The city entered the competition as a dark horse , being up against stiff competition. The US media also criticized Atlanta as a second-tier city and complained of Georgia's Confederate history . However, the IOC Evaluation Commission ranked Atlanta's infrastructure and facilities

6478-414: Was that this was the first Summer Olympics ever that not a single nation swept all three medals in a single event. These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1996 Games.   *    Host nation ( United States ) A total of 197 nations, all of the then-existing and recognized National Olympic Committees, were represented at the 1996 Games, and the combined total of athletes

6560-460: Was then a flashback to the closing ceremony of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona , showing the then president of the IOC , Juan Antonio Samaranch , inviting the athletes to compete in Atlanta in 1996. Then, spirits ascended in the northwest corner of the stadium, each representing one of the colors in the Olympic rings. The spirits called the tribes of the world which, after mixed percussion, formed

6642-469: Was undertaken by Nike, Inc. , which had begun an advertising campaign with aggressive slogans that mocked the Games' values, such as "Faster, Higher, Stronger, Badder", "If you're not here to win, you're a tourist", and "You don't win silver, you lose gold." The slogans were featured on magazine ads and billboards it purchased in Atlanta. Nike also opened a pop-up store known as the Nike Center near

6724-485: Was written by Jack Arogeti, a managing director at McCann-Erickson in Atlanta at the time. The slogan was selected from more than 5,000 submitted by the public to the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Billy Payne noted that Jack "captured the spirit and our true motivation for the Olympic games." The city of Savannah, Georgia , host of the yachting events, held its own local festivities, including

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