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
Service Medal in Gold awarded to veteran cadres of Umkhonto we Sizwe for thirty years exemplary service. The position of the Service Medal in Gold in the official military and national orders of precedence was revised upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003. The Service Medal in Gold is a silver-gilt oval medallion with a raised edge, depicting the Umkhonto we Sizwe emblem. The reverse is smooth and displays the embellished , with silver hallmarks impressed below and the medal number impressed above. The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and green, with a 4 millimetres wide black edge