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
Kenya at the 2008 Summer Olympics Jepkosgei Busienei to a one-two finish. Marathon runner Samuel Wanjiru did not only bring home the gold medal for the Kenyans, but also broke the 24-year-old Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes. The Kenyans finished the Olympics being the most successful African country in the Beijing Olympics, and 13th place in the overall country standings. The following athletes have been selected for the Olympics: Kenya qualified five boxers for the Olympic boxing tournament. Bilali was the only boxer to qualify at the first African qualifying event. The other four boxers all earned spots at the second African tournament. In addition,