It is enough to just say "coke"... And it is clear to everyone why Atlanta won the organization of the Olympic Games before Athens.
Although the Greeks were waiting for the centenary of modern Olympism, although they did everything for Athens to be the host as in 1896, the International Olympic Committee explained its decision by the fact that the condition of the sports arenas in Athens is not at the level of such a big event.
The American beverage company got involved in the election race in 1990 when it was supposed to be known which city would get the organization. Coca-Cola then took over, and the Greeks were so angry with the Americans that they called the Games the Coca-Cola Games.
Athens rose, and the capital of Georgia was ready for a spectacle - a record 197 countries participated in the Games, and 79 of them won at least one medal...
For the first time in history, the principle was applied according to which the Olympic Games were financed without the help of public funds (city and state), but all costs were covered by the organizers from the sale of tickets, advertisements and from private funds.
Due to too many commercials and commercialization, the organizer has often come under attack, because it is not in accordance with the Olympic spirit.
Therefore, "Coca-Cola" and other equally strong brands carried all the burden, and the organization was a special story. He lit the torch at the opening ceremony of the Games Mohamed Ali, the opening was also attended by a Slovenian gymnast Leon Stukelj, as one of the oldest Olympians of those years.
Americans wouldn't be Americans if they didn't invent something new - softball, beach volleyball and mountain biking are included in the Olympic Games program. In terms of sports, the Games were a success, but everything was overshadowed by the tragedy that happened on July 27 - a bomb was planted, and in the explosion one spectator was killed, and over 100 fans were injured.
Atlanta 1996 will also be remembered for the heavy traffic jams, so it was very difficult to get from one place to another to follow the Olympic Games.
The home team had high hopes for athletics and swimming, and they were right - in those two disciplines, they won 26 gold medals. Michael Johnson just before the Games broke the world record in 200 meters, which the Italian had jealously guarded for 17 years Pietro Menea.
Mene's time was 19,72, and Johnson improved it by six hundredths of a second (19,66). However, he didn't stop there either - in the 200 meter final, he showed incredible progress, as he ran a phenomenal 19,32!
Many thought at the time that he would never be overthrown, but he was Usain Bolt first in Beijing lowered the dream limit to 19,30, and then at the WC in Berlin in 2009 to an unreal 19,19, which is still the current best time ever.
The American sprinter, who ran in golden sneakers, was also the best in the 400-meter race. And he showed that the magic is not tied to just one Johnson, the legendary LA Lakers point guard Irvin Magic Johnson, but also for him - then he broke the Olympic record (43,49), and three years later in Seville the world record (43,18).
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He was surpassed only by a South African Vajde van Niekerk at the 2016 Rio Games (phenomenal 43,04).
Canadian Donovan Bailey broke the world record at 100 meters - in the final race he ran an unimaginable 9,84 at the time... Bailey brought Canada one of the three gold medals in total, the 4x100 meter relay team and the rowing pair also reached the podium Ketlin Hedl - Marni Mekbin.
Atlanta was also set on fire by a local swimmer Amy van Dyken, which won four top honors in different disciplines. She was the best in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, and in the 4x100 freestyle and medley relays.
A magnificent Olympic career, in which he won nine golds and a silver (in Seoul in 1988), Carl Lewis finished in the most beautiful way possible - he won the fourth consecutive gold medal in the long jump and went down in legend. The son of the wind, as many called him, ended his career in 1996, but after repeating the success he achieved before him Pavo Nurmi, with nine Olympic gold medals.
He also repeated the success Jesse Owens from Berlin in 1936, who won the 100, 200 meters, the long jump and the 4x100 relay.
For the American basketball team, it was clear that it had no rivals, that no European team was even close to its knees.
Team Lenia Wilkins played with everyone, and in the final beat Yugoslavia with a tolerable 95:69, and Željko Obradović's team held on until the start of the second half. "Dream Team" with Olajjuvon, Barkley, Robinson, Stoktonom, Watermelon, O'Nilom, Pippen, Richmond... he won all eight matches, and scored over 100 points in four.
The only gold at the Olympic Games was brought by FR Yugoslavia Aleksandra Ivošev in archery. So, the basketball players were defeated in the final by the USA, and that's for a generation Divac, Paspalja, Bodiroge, Ribs, Savić (did not play the final due to injury), Djordjevic, Danilović and others were equal to gold, considering who was their rival.
Ivošev also won bronze, as did the volleyball team, which beat Russia 3:3 in the match for 1rd place. There were Montenegrins in that team Goran Vujevic i Vladimir Batez.
Croats also made a big success, winning gold in men's handball.
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