As the only returning Olympian, Galiyeva was named team captain of the Russian squad at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. However, these Olympics would also prove to be less than positive for her. The Russian squad was disappointed in the team finals, where they finished second to the U.S. after leading for the first half of the competition. Galiyeva, along with other gymnasts such as Lavinia Miloșovici, Simona Amanar and Svetlana Khorkina, were distracted by the rowdy American crowd. In the team finals, Galiyeva competed on floor exercise just after Kerri Strug's vault that won the gold for the USA; the cheering crowd watched Galiyeva with more attention than they had her teammates, but the spotlight was elsewhere. The situation was repeated two days later in the all-around finals, when Galiyeva was performing, again on floor exercise, while American favorite Shannon Miller was on balance beam, and Galiyeva could not properly hear her music over the deafening crowd noise when Miller's impressive routine ended, and again when the score was flashed.