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
Norway at the 1912 Summer Olympics the best result of the Games. "Ranks given for each swimmer are within the heat." 23 athletes represented Norway. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport as well as the Olympics. Ferdinand Bie, who had originally won the silver medal in the pentathlon, was awarded gold after Jim Thorpe was disqualified. When Thorpe was reinstated in 1982, Bie retained his gold medal in the event and became co-champions with Thorpe. Bie's medal was the only one won by Norway in 1912 and was the nation's first athletics gold medal. Arne Halse, who had previously held Norway's best athletics