1996 Summer Olympics 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 the American Meter Company and electroplated by Erie Plating Company. Each torch weighed about and was made primarily of aluminum, with a Georgia pecan wood handle and gold ornamentation. The 1996 Summer Olympic programme featured 271 events in 26 sports. Softball, beach volleyball and mountain biking debuted on the Olympic program, together with women's football and lightweight rowing. In women's gymnastics, Lilia Podkopayeva became
Basketball at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball contests at the 1996 Olympic Games were held from July 20, 1996 to August 4, 1996. Games took place in the Morehouse College Gymnasium and in the Georgia Dome. With the U.S. winning the gold medal, Scottie Pippen would become the first person to win NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year twice, having played for Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. He had played for the Bulls in and later that year, for the "Dream Team" at the Barcelona Olympics. An NOC may enter up to one men's team