The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States opened on this day
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American sprinter Michael Johnson achieves a ground-breaking performance by breaking the 200-metre world record with an extraordinary time of 19.32 seconds, surpassing the previous record by 0.30 seconds.
Dan O'Brien wins the decathlon gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics to become the first American since Bruce Jenner in 1976 to win the gruelling event
French sprinter Marie-José Pérec wins the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics to become only the 2nd athlete to win the 200-400m Olympic double (Valerie Brisco-Hooks 1984)