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
Belgium at the 1998 Winter Olympics in 1996 to make it easier to qualify for major competitions. Veldkamp had won gold for the Netherlands at the 1992 Winter Olympics and bronze for the Netherlands at the 1994 Winter Olympics, and would go on to represent Belgium at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics. On 8 February, he took part in the 5,000 metres race. He went out early and set a new world record, only for two more world records to be set that day, leaving him in third place and the winner of the bronze medal. On 12 February, despite being a