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Atlanta was selected in September 1990 in Tokyo, Japan, above Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne and Toronto.

The games had a profound impact on the city of Atlanta and many in the metro area consider the Games to be instrumental in transforming Atlanta into the modernized city it has become. One instance is the mid-rise dormitories built for the Olympic Village, as one of these complexes became the first residential housing for Georgia State University, and has recently been transferred for use by the Georgia Institute of Technology. Another example is Centennial Olympic Stadium, which by design was later converted in the baseball-specific Turner Field for the Atlanta Braves after the Games concluded, as there was no long-term need for a track and field venue in the city. Centennial Olympic Park was also built for the events and is still in use.

The Atlanta Olympics, following the model established by the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, used no public financing. The cost of the Games was US$1.8 billion to stage. Governmental funds were used for security, but not for the actual Games themselves. To pay for the games, Atlanta relied on commercial sponsorship and ticket sales, resulting in a profit of $10 million.

However a report prepared by European Olympic officials after the Games was critical of Atlanta’s performance in several key issues, 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.

At the closing ceremony, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said in his closing speech, “Well done, Atlanta” and 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 Games in Sydney in 2000.

Interesting Facts

• A record 197 nations, all current IOC member nations, took part, with a record 79 of them winning at least one medal. Palestine was allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
• Also for the first time, Olympic medals were won by the athletes from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burundi, Ecuador, Georgia, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Mozambique, Slovakia, Tonga, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Lee Lai Shan won a gold medal in sailing, the only Olympic medal that Hong Kong has ever won as a British colony (1952-1997). 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 transferred to China in 1997.
• Softball, beach volleyball and mountain biking debuted on the Olympic program, together with women’s soccer/football and lightweight rowing.
• Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic torch during the opening ceremonies of the games and received a replacement gold medal for his boxing victory in the 1960 Summer Olympics.
• Slovene gymnast Leon Štukelj arose at the opening ceremony as one of the oldest living sportsmen in the world (age 97)
• Naim Süleymano?lu became the first weightlifter to win three gold medals.
• 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 the 200 m. Johnson afterward began disputing Bailey’s unofficial title as the “world’s fastest man”, which later culminated in a 150-metre race between the two to settle the issue.
• Marie-José Perec 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. Lewis, Paavo Nurmi and Mark Spitz shared the record for most Olympic gold medals (9) until Michael Phelps reached 14 with his eight gold medals won in Beijing.
• Cycling professionals were admitted to the Olympics, with five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain winning the inaugural individual time trial event.
• 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 a four-year suspension in 1998 for tampering with a urine sample, though her medals and records were allowed to stand.
• Kerri Strug of the United States women’s gymnastics team vaulted with an injured ankle and landed on one foot.
• Amy Van Dyken won four gold medals in the Olympic swimming pool, the first American woman to win four titles in a single Olympiad.
• Deon Hemmings became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal for Jamaica and the English-speaking West Indies.
• Five athletes were disqualified for using banned drugs. A few of these athletes were reinstated since the drug they took had been declared illegal only a week before the Olympics.
• Andre Agassi won the gold medal in tennis. This helped him become the first male player to ever win the career Golden Slam.
• Kurt Angle of the United States won the gold medal in 100 kg (220 lb) freestyle wrestling while suffering from a fractured neck.
• Deng Yaping of China won two gold medals in Women singles and doubles of table tennis. She also won these two titles in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
• The US women’s soccer team won the gold medal in the first ever women’s soccer event.
• Xeno Müller won gold for the Men’s single scull event (rowing) in his first Olympic appearance. His time of 6:44.85 is still the current Olympic record.

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