1996 Summer Paralympics

Multi-parasport event in Atlanta, Georgia, US June 2026 October 2013 1996 Summer Paralympics 1996 Paralymic games logo.svg Atlanta, United States The Triumph of the Human Spirit 104 3,259SUMMER PARALYMPIC GAMES OVERVIEW https://www.paralympic.org/paralympic-games/summer-overview International Paralympic Committee 4 October 2025 517 in 19 sports August 15, 1996 August 25, 1996 Vice President Al Gore IPC President Robert Steadward Mark Wellman Centennial Olympic Stadium Barcelona/Madrid 1992 Sydney 2000 Lillehammer 1994 Nagano 1998 The 1996 Summer Paralympic in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 15 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship,Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games International Paralympic Committee https://www.paralympic.org/atlanta-1996 20 February 2022 and had a budget of US$81 million. The Paralympic Games Explained Ian Brittain 83 Taylor & Francis 2009 978-0-415-47658-4 It was the first Paralympic Games where International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability athletes were given full medal status. Adapted physical activity Robert Daniel Steadward Elizabeth Jane Watkinson Garry David Wheeler 577 University of Alberta 2003 0-88864-375-6 registration https://archive.org/details/adaptedphysicala00stea/page/577 Bidding history In an interview with the Atlanta-based Reporters and Newspapers website, Andrew Fleming, the CEO of the Organizing Committee (APOC) and a disability rights attorney, expressed gratitude for the efforts of Alana Shepherd. Shepherd founded the world-renowned Shepherd Center, one of the first hospitals dedicated to rehabilitating victims of cervical spine accidents. Until March 1992, it was uncertain whether the 1996 Summer Paralympics would be held in Atlanta, as the event was not part of the original plan and did not include the possibility of being hosted two weeks after the Olympic Games closing ceremonies. Despite the lack of coordination between the two organizing committees, the Paralympics began to be promoted and had already developed a visual identity and international presence. Concerns arose from various areas, including the disorganization of the Olympic Games' Organizing Committee (ACOG) and financial issues that threatened planning the games. Between 1990 and 1992, the Shepherd family noticed a lack of interest in hosting the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, with neglect from local authorities, Olympic sponsors, and large international corporations headquartered in the city. This affected the financing and promotion of the 1996 Summer Paralympic Games, which could have led to significant ticket and licensed product sales. Fleming recalled an interview with Shepherd, noting that if Atlanta failed to host the Games, Great Britain was considered "Plan B" by the newly formed International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Andrew Flaming, president of the then-APOC also mentioned in an interview that the 1984 Summer Olympics budgetary issues were repeated in Atlanta. In 1984, Los Angeles "forgot" the Paralympics, later dubbed "the last-minute games", which were hosted by New York City and Stoke Mandeville in Great Britain. Unlike Seoul, which signed late cooperation agreements for the Paralympics, Barcelona decided to organize both events under the same committee in 1987. This decision increased pressure on American organizers, as it was the first time in history that the two events were held together. In 1990, when Atlanta won the rights to host the 1996 Summer Olympics, a group led by Fleming and the Shepherd family matriarch worked hard to create and submit a bid for the Paralympics, a project that took a year and a half to complete. Fleming noted that Olympic organizers were skeptical about hosting the Paralympics half a week after the Olympics and did not want to commit to them. Consequently, achieving the planned budget of nearly $80 million was challenging, as the Paralympics lacked funding and media rights sales. Fleming recalled a market survey revealing that only 2% of city locals were aware of the Paralympic Games, compared to 4% who knew about the Atlanta Youth Games. As time passed, this situation became public in 1991, causing internal tensions within the Olympic organization. To avoid further damage to their image, the Atlanta Olympic Organizing Committee discreetly donated money and assisted the Paralympic Games in certain areas. Following the situation, Alana Shepherd, co-founder of the Shepherd Center, led a campaign to ensure the 1996 Summer Paralympics were held in Atlanta. After the IPC accepted the bid, she launched an aggressive strategy to involve large companies as sponsors and increase the event's visibility. Press reports from the time described a drastic situation, with the Paralympic Organizing Committee starting its work in a small basement at the Shepherd Center due to a lack of funds to rent commercial space.August 3, 2019 How Buckhead's Shepherd Center saved the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games https://reporternewspapers.net/2019/08/03/how-buckheads-shepherd-center-saved-the-atlanta-1996-paralympic-games/ 2022-05-16 Reporter NewspapersMarch 4, 2021 The 10th Paralympic Games and Their Place in Disability History https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/blog/the-10th-paralympic-games-and-their-place-in-disability-history/ 2022-05-16 Atlanta History Center After sending final documents and proposals to Belgium in late 1990 and making informal agreements the following year, the Shepherd Center Committee spent 1.5 years developing their proposal, which was officially presented during the 1992 Winter Paralympics in Tignes, France.2019 Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Summer Games https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/atlanta-1996-paralympic-summer-games 2022-05-23 Stoke Mandeville Paralympic Heritage A different kind of competition Shortly after the IPC announced that Atlanta's civil society proposal to host the Paralympics. Another race against time had started, and this one was seen as the worst, as the bidding committee had to get corporate and large sponsors. During the bidding campaign companies like Microsoft, Coca-Cola, CNN and Home Depot were originally committed to buy sponsorship shares, but when the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) executives learned of these promises, they were concerned about that all things that might impact on the "Atlanta 1996 Olympic Summer Games" brand and they turned an uncooperative factor about the Paralympic Games. The USOC understood that any move by the United States Paralympic Committee (USPC) could affect the USOC brand and their stakeholders. The US Department of Justice was sued by the USOC over the Paralympic Games mascot, the phoenix Blaze. Fleming also said the deal was the trap worked perfectly and required them to approach only corporate sponsors who had already signed an Olympics sponsorship agreement. When one Olympic sponsor declined, the Paralympics organizers could only request a competitor with the withdrawing company's permission. As main example, Fleming said that McDonald's refused to buy a sponsorship quota or act as a partner in a supplier area and the Paralympic catering services, and if any direct competing company wanted to buy it, APOC would have to ask permission for the withdrawing company to sign the contract. It "would not let them solicit Chick-fil-A, even though Dan Cathy, one of its main executives, had a chair at the organizing committee". Upon realizing she and all of the Paralympic Organizing Committee were being ambushed, Alana Shepherd abruptly broken unilaterally all previously signed contracts, taking the personal risk on this issue and through a press conference and released a list she dubbed the "Sinful Six", as their name were handwritten by her on a piece of paper. This nicknames was given, because along with McDonald's another five Olympic Sponsors did not signed a contract to the Paralympics and blocked eventual negotiations with their direct competitors. On this list were this names: Anheuser-Busch, Visa, Bausch and Lomb, John Hancock Financial and Sara Lee. "I keep the list in my wallet," Shepherd told a reporter at the time. In recent interviews, Shepherd declines to say much about this situation and the deal. "I'm taking the high road now... I'm not digging it up," she said, but added, "They were the losers. We were the winners." She also attended the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain, and in a stroke of fate happened to have Juan Antonio Samaranch, the then president of the International Olympic Committee, sitting next to her and in an informal talking she said. "You know, it's crazy to have two different committees holding events at the same places," she recalled. "They didn't understand it, they were scared of it," she said of Olympics officials' attitude toward the Paralympics. "It was something they didn't understand would help the city become more accessible."How Buckhead's Shepherd Center saved the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games Reporter Newspapers August 3, 2019 https://reporternewspapers.net/2019/08/03/how-buckheads-shepherd-center-saved-the-atlanta-1996-paralympic-games/ 2022-05-16 All of these issues were a concern for the IPC since the beginning of the application process and example of this concerns were reported during the entity's General Assembly held in November 1995 in Tokyo, Japan.Minutes of the fifth General Assembly International Paralympic Committee 1995 http://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/paad/ipc/secretariat/ga-95-minutes.html 11 December 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/19970727095354/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/paad/ipc/secretariat/ga-95-minutes.html 27 July 1997 livemedic Racing against time and all risks, Shepard raised the US$81 million needed to hold the event. Without the involvement of any public authority, Atlanta successfully held the IX edition of the Summer Paralympic Games. But unlike what had happened four years earlier, not all Olympic Games competition venues were used and the same Barcelona experience could not be delivered. But, contrary to predictions, the event made an impressive profit of millions of dollars, and that amount was used to create BlazeSports America, a Norcross-based non-profit organization that runs sports programs for children and veterans with disabilities. Atlanta aftermath Flaming and Shepherd believes until today that Samaranch and others must have heard the key message of these struggles. "After Atlanta, the IOC said it would not accept an Olympic bid unless it also made provisions for the Paralympic Games," Fleming said. "The IOC leadership essentially said, 'The Paralympic movement is not going away, especially after Atlanta...'and this was already happening, a few months after the closing of the Atlanta Games, the International Olympic Committee announced that it had changed the rules of the application process and starting from the 2000 Summer Olympics would not accept a bid if the city filed a bid without disclosing its plans for the Paralympic Games. Following this difficult process, when bidding for the Olympic Games between 1991 and 1993, the eventual winner - the Australian city of Sydney - did not originally guarantee that the city wanted to host the Paralympics. But during the process, they changed their attitudes and promised that apart the two events had the possibility to be organized by two different parties, they would give the same treatment to all the participants and public who went to go to Australia for the two events. This also encompassed planning, financing, security, logistics, marketing and ticket sales. This joint planning give the opportunity to share all the functions and made until that Games, won the title of "the best ever" until that date.Sydney 2000 Paralympic Summer Games Stock Mandeville Paralympic Heritage April 2022 https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/sydney-2000-paralympic-summer-games 2022-04-27 The Atlanta 1996 Summer Paralympic Games budget troubles led the IOC to take and study some changes on their management. In the first action held in 1993, IOC and IPC signed a joint protocol of strategic partnership and they undertook to include topics related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the evaluation questionnaires that would be sent to the cities interested in the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics. Occasionally, another American city Salt Lake City would be elected to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. In a different way that held in Atlanta, as they assumed the responsibility to host the 2002 Winter Paralympics if they won. While of the 11 cities applying for the 2004 Games, 6 had also chosen the joint management model.Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Paralympics Stock Mandeville Paralympic Heritage May 2022 https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/salt-lake-city-2002-paralympic-winter-games 2022-05-16Athens 2004 Summer Paralympics Stock Mandeville Paralympic Heritage May 2022 https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/athens-2004-paralympic-summer-games 2022-05-16 Five years later, and after the large and unprecedented success of the 1998 Winter Paralympics and the 2000 Summer Paralympics in 2001, after a change at the Olympic Charter, the International Paralympic Committee became an effective collaborator of the International Olympic Committee, and its president became a compulsory member of the IOC. With that, a cooperation agreement was signed informally called "One city, two events" and from then on, the same city and the same Organizing Committee would be responsible for the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games of the same year, and this concept started to be used during the process that led Beijing to win the process to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics Stock Mandeville Paralympic Heritage May 2022 https://www.paralympicheritage.org.uk/beijing-2008-paralympic-summer-games 2022-05-16http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/10-olympic-games-bankrupted-host-countries9.htm 10 Olympic Games That Nearly Bankrupted Their Host Countries 2014-01-19 2022-05-16 Incidents during the Games In addition to the organizational and funding issues between the two committees, other difficulties arose when Paralympic athletes arrived at the Olympic Village. The first delegations to register expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the accommodations, the availability of food, and especially the logistics between the village and the venues due to distance and accessibility challenges. These problems were not the first reported during the "transition period" from August 5 to 15. Several media outlets covering the games highlighted accusations that the Olympic Games Organizing Committee was negligent regarding village services, raising concerns about numerous contractual failures between the two parties. This agreement included infrastructure issues, such as site maintenance and cleaning, until APOC could assume operational control. When athletes accessed their accommodations, they discovered missing furniture, and several electronic devices and sockets had been ripped out, turning the residential areas into a disarray. The criticism was so widespread that ACOG publicly denied the situation, claiming that some delegations had arrived two days earlier than planned. Logistics and accessibility were significant issues, as competitions took place in 17 venues across Metro Atlanta, with only three near the village and six exclusive venues for the Paralympics located within Georgia University System institutions that had served as training facilities during the Olympic Games. The original contract only included some shared competition venues. Another embarrassing situation arose from how APOC managed athletes with intellectual disabilities, who were included in the Summer Paralympics for the first time. The decision to include them was made late, in 1995, and they were not mentioned in official publicity materials or during the opening ceremony and their early competitions. Despite repeated complaints from Bernard Athos, then president of the International Association of Sports for People with Intellectual Disabilities (INAS-FMH), APOC initially ignored these concerns. The issue gained attention when journalists covering the games reported it, prompting APOC to announce through a press release that the oversight had been unintentional. Look of the Games The visual concept for this edition was called "The Ascending Flame" and was based on the logo called "StarFire" released in 1992. The design was developed by Copeland Design, who had created all the visual concepts for the city's bid for the Olympic Games. The office took advantage of public knowledge that the two events would be held separately, and a totally different corporate identity was created. It was believed that this would be the largest ever edition of the Paralympics,Designing '96 Atlanta History Center July 14, 2020 https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/blog/designing-96/ 2022-05-06 and that echoed in the logo which is similar to the logo of the Olympic Games bid. The chosen graphic connected with the constant expansion and recent recognition of the Paralympic Movement around the world, and the fact that the Paralympics "was ceasing to be a second class event and now they are enter into a mainstream visibility". The highest feature at the concept of "The Ascending Flame" is a special feature of Atlanta as one of main logistics hubs in the world, as during this time, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had become one of the main airports in the world and led to the city's first period of rapid development. Another recurring idea was that this issue could serve as the "light of inspiration" for the issue of basic rights for people with disabilities around the world in a parallel with Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Another association was held with the city's nickname of "The Phoenix City," because of its reconstruction after being repeatedly destroyed, parallel to the life story of each participating athlete. The last connection would be in a direct relation with the Paralympic flame, which in this iteration was born from a spark of the eternal flame that burns at King Center. According to a survey carried out by the Atlanta History Center, there are few recorded materials about the development of this project. However, Copeland Design was also responsible for creating the visual identity. In these documents, the so-called concept of "The Ascendent Flame" is explained and associated with the Games slogan that was "The Triumph of the Human Spirit" along the mascot that was the phoenix Blaze.1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games Standards Manual Atlanta History Center July 14, 2021 https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/app/uploads/2020/11/Paralympic_GraphicStandardManual_Optmized.pdf 2022-05-06 Paralympic torch relay 1996 Summer Paralympics torch relay The 1996 Summer Paralympics torch relay, also referred to as the NationsBank Paralympic Torch Relay to reflect the event's lead sponsor, was held between August 5 and August 15, leading up to the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was the first Paralympic torch relay held in the United States, beginning at the King Center in Atlanta, then being run from Washington, D.C. to the Centennial Olympic Stadium"Paralympic torch begins trek", Associated Press, via Macon Telegraph, August 6, 1996, page 2B Mascot Blaze (Paralympic mascot) The mascot for the 1996 Summer Paralympics was a phoenix named Blaze. Blaze was created by Atlanta artist Trevor Stone Irvin. ATLANTA 1996 PARALYMPIC MASCOT International Paralympic Committee https://www.paralympic.org/atlanta-1996/mascot 2024-10-12 Sports thumb|Eila Nilsson of Sweden celebrating her 50 m freestyle B1 gold with Janice Burton of Great Britain and Tracey Cross of Australia. The games consisted of 517 finals spread over 19 sports, including two demonstration sports. Archery Athletics Boccia Cycling Equestrian Football 7-a-side Goalball Judo Lawn bowls Powerlifting Sailing (demonstration sport, but medals awarded) Shooting Swimming Table tennis Volleyball Wheelchair basketball Wheelchair fencing Wheelchair rugby (demonstration sport, but medals awarded) Wheelchair tennis thumb|left|A group of Australian supporters at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games Venues In total 16 venues were used during the Games.Ten were also used during the 1996 Summer Olympics and six new were used exclusively for the Paralympics.Tickets Atlanta Paralympics Organizing Committee 1996 http://www.paralympic.org/tickets.htm 16 October 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/19970206221243/http://www.paralympic.org/tickets.htm February 6, 1997 Olympic Ring Centennial Olympic Stadium – opening/closing ceremonies, athletics Alexander Memorial Coliseum – standing volleyball Georgia Tech Aquatic Center – swimming Metro Atlanta Henderson Arena – judo and wheelchair rugby Panther Stadium – lawn bowls and 7-side-football Woodruff P.E. Center – boccia GSU Sports Arena – goalball Marriott Marquis – powerlifting Sheffield Building – wheelchair fencing Forbes Arena – wheelchair basketball Omni Coliseum – wheelchair basketball (finals) Clayton State Arena – sitting volleyball Wolf Creek Shooting Complex – shooting Stone Mountain Park – archery, wheelchair tennis and cycling Duluth, Georgia Gwinnett Center – table tennis Another Venues Lake Lanier – yachting Georgia International Horse Park – equestrian Calendar In the following calendar for the 1996 Summer Paralympics, each blue box represents an event competition. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport are held. The number in each yellow box represents the number of finals that are contested on that day.http://www.paralympic.org/results/results.htm Results of the 1996 Paralympic Games Atlanta 1996 Summer Paralympics Official Website 20 December 2021 13 November 1996 https://web.archive.org/web/19961113113230/http://www.paralympic.org/results/results.htm  ● Opening ceremony    Event competitions    Event finals ● Closing ceremony August Thu15thFri16thSat17thSun18thMon19thTue20thWed21stThu22ndFri23rdSat24thSun25th GoldMedals Ceremonies OC CC Archery | | | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |5 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |3 | | | 8Athletics | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |18 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |26 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |29 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |28 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |27 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |22 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |28 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |26 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |19 | 223Boccia | | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 5 | | | | 5Cycling Track | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |3 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |6 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | | | | | | | 11Cycling Road | | | | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | | | | 12Equestrian | | | | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |5 | | | | | 9Football 7-a-side | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | 1Goalball | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | | | 2Judo | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |3 | | | | | | | | 7Lawn Bowls | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | | | 8Powerlifting | | | | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | | 10Sailing | | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | | | | 1Shooting | | | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 3 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 1 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 2 | 15Sitting volleyball | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | | 1Standing volleyball | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | | | | 1Swimming | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |19 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |20 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |15 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |12 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |19 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |19 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |15 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 28 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 21 | 168Table Tennis | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |7 | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |17 | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" | 4 | | 28Wheelchair basketball | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | 2Wheelchair fencing | | | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |4 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |2 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |3 | | | | | 9Wheelchair rugby | | | | | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | | | 1 Wheelchair tennis | | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#3399ff" |● | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |1 | bgcolor="#ffcc00" |3 | | 4Total02425759 55 43 82 57 64 44 517 Medal count 1996 Summer Paralympics medal table thumb|The medals of the 1996 Summer Paralympics A total of 1574 medals were awarded during the Atlanta games: 517 gold, 516 silver, and 541 bronze. The host country, the United States, topped the medal count with more gold medals, more bronze medals, and more medals overall than any other nation. Germany took the most silver medals, with 58.Medal Standings – Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games International Paralympic Committee 2008 http://www.paralympic.org/Sport/Results/reports.html?type=medalstandings&games=1996PG&sport=all July 12, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110605181942/http://www.paralympic.org/Sport/Results/reports.html?type=medalstandings&games=1996PG&sport=all June 5, 2011 In the table below, the ranking sorts by the number of gold medals earned by the top ten nations (in this context a nation is an entity represented by a National Paralympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. #ccf Host country (United States) solid 1px #AAAAAA FlagIPCteam 1996 Summer 47 46 66 yes USA 1996 Summer 42 37 27 AUS 1996 Summer 40 58 51 GER 1996 Summer 40 42 41 GBR 1996 Summer 39 31 36 ESP 1996 Summer 35 29 31 FRA 1996 Summer 24 23 24 CAN 1996 Summer 17 11 17 NED 1996 Summer 16 13 10 CHN 1996 Summer 14 10 13 JPN 1996 Summer Participating delegations A total of 104 National Paralympic Committees were represented at the 1996 Games, and the combined total of athletes was about 3,260.Countries who made their first appearances in the Atlanta Games were : Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Mauritius, Moldova, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Ukraine and Zambia. Participating National Paralympic Committees18em AFG 1996 Summer 2 ALG 1996 Summer 9 ANG 1996 Summer 2 ARG 1996 Summer 56 ARM 1996 Summer 5 AUS 1996 Summer 166 AUT 1996 Summer 49 AZE 1996 Summer 2 BRN 1996 Summer 6 BLR 1996 Summer 15 BEL 1996 Summer 38 BER 1996 Summer 2 BIH 1996 Summer 2 BRA 1996 Summer 60 BUL 1996 Summer 6 BUR 1996 Summer 3 CAN 1996 Summer 133 CHI 1996 Summer 2 CHN 1996 Summer 37 COL 1996 Summer 2 CRO 1996 Summer 5 CUB 1996 Summer 10 CYP 1996 Summer 4 CZE 1996 Summer 43 DEN 1996 Summer 45 DOM 1996 Summer 2 ECU 1996 Summer 2 EGY 1996 Summer 31 EST 1996 Summer 10 FRO 1996 Summer 1 FIJ 1996 Summer 2 FIN 1996 Summer 65 MKD 1996 Summer 1 FRA 1996 Summer 148 GER 1996 Summer 231 GBR 1996 Summer 248 GRE 1996 Summer 16 HON 1996 Summer 2 HKG 1996 Summer 25 HUN 1996 Summer 42 ISL 1996 Summer 10 IND 1996 Summer 9 INA 1996 Summer 1 IRI 1996 Summer 30 IRQ 1996 Summer 12 IRL 1996 Summer 63 ISR 1996 Summer 40 ITA 1996 Summer 79 JAM 1996 Summer 3 JPN 1996 Summer 81 JOR 1996 Summer 5 KAZ 1996 Summer 13 KEN 1996 Summer 17 KOR 1996 Summer 65 KUW 1996 Summer 17 KGZ 1996 Summer 2 LAT 1996 Summer 5 LBA 1996 Summer 4 LTU 1996 Summer 11 LUX 1996 Summer 1 MAC 1996 Summer 1 MAS 1996 Summer 6 MRI 1996 Summer 2 MEX 1996 Summer 38 MDA 1996 Summer 5 MAR 1996 Summer 4 NED 1996 Summer 108 NZL 1996 Summer 30 NGR 1996 Summer 8 NOR 1996 Summer 42 OMA 1996 Summer 3 PAK 1996 Summer 1 PAN 1996 Summer 1 PER 1996 Summer 3 POL 1996 Summer 61 POR 1996 Summer 35 PUR 1996 Summer 5 QAT 1996 Summer 1 ROU 1996 Summer 1 RUS 1996 Summer 70 KSA 1996 Summer 2 SLE 1996 Summer 1 SIN 1996 Summer 3 SVK 1996 Summer 28 SLO 1996 Summer 14 RSA 1996 Summer 40 ESP 1996 Summer 196 SRI 1996 Summer 1 SWE 1996 Summer 111 SUI 1996 Summer 45 SYR 1996 Summer 2 24px Chinese Taipei (14) THA 1996 Summer 7 TUN 1996 Summer 3 UGA 1996 Summer 1 UKR 1996 Summer 30 UAE 1996 Summer 5 USA 1996 Summer 315 (host) URU 1996 Summer 1 VEN 1996 Summer 4 YUG 1996 Summer 10 ZAM 1996 Summer 1 ZIM 1996 Summer 2 See also Sports 1996 Summer Olympics BlazeSports America, the legacy organization of the 1996 Paralympic Games References Olympic/Paralympic Planning Office Records External links International Paralympic Committee https://web.archive.org/web/20090507154716/http://www.paralympic.org/ May 7, 2009 Official site Collection: Olympic/Paralympic Photograph Collection Georgia Tech Archives Finding Aids https://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/repositories/2/resources/201 finding-aids.library.gatech.edu https://web.archive.org/web/20240520133114/https://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/repositories/2/resources/201 20 May 2024 Summer Paralympics Atlanta Barcelona–Madrid Sydney X Paralympic Summer Games (1996) Paralympics Category:Sports competitions in Atlanta Paralympics Paralympics Category:1996 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:1996 in Atlanta Category:Multi-sport events in the United States Category:Summer Paralympic Games by year Summer Paralympics Category:1996 in international sports Category:Olympic Games in the United States Category:1996 in disability sport