The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other Western countries to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, an act reciprocated when the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. Joyner-Kersee was also a four-time gold medalist at the world championships. Since 1988, she has held the world record for heptathlon.
Ghada Shouaa is a retired Syrian heptathlete. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, she won her country's first and only Olympic gold medal. She was also a World and Asian heptathlon champion. She is considered one of the best Asian and Arab female athletes of all time. She was a Syrian flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 310 competitors, 181 men and 129 women, took part in 179 events in 23 sports. These were the first Summer Olympics in which the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB in a highly successful attempt to unify all the competing athletes across all the sports and events and boost team morale. Going into the games following their exceptionally poor performance in Atlanta widespread expectations of the team were low.
The United States (USA) was the host nation for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. 646 competitors, 375 men and 271 women, took part in 263 events in 31 sports.
Poland competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. 165 competitors, 126 men and 39 women, took part in 126 events in 20 sports.
Belarus competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time as an independent nation at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. Previously, Belarusian athletes competed for the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics. 157 competitors, 91 men and 66 women, took part in 115 events in 19 sports.
Germany competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. 465 competitors, 278 men and 187 women, took part in 234 events in 26 sports.
Lithuania competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.
Syria competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. Ghada Shouaa won the nation's first ever gold medal.
Jamaica competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.
Sierra Leone competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.
The Women's Heptathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program was held at the Stadium Australia on Wednesday 23 September and Thursday 24 September.
These are the official results of the Women's Heptathlon competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. There were a total number of 32 participating athletes, with one non-starter and six competitors who didn't finish the competition.
These are the official results of the Women's Heptathlon competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
These are the official results of the Women's heptathlon competition at the 1994 European Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The competition was held at Helsinki Olympic Stadium on 8 August and 9 August 1994.
These are the official results of the Women's Pentathlon competition at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR. There were a total number of 19 participating athletes, with the competition held on 24 July 1980. This was to be the last Pentathlon competition at this level as the Heptathlon subsequently replaced it in 1984 and became the multi-event competition for women.
The 22nd edition of the annual Hypo-Meeting took place on May 25 and May 26, 1996 in Götzis, Austria. The track and field competition featured a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon. It was the last big test before the start of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kelly Blair LaBounty is a retired American track and field Olympic athlete.
Jacquelyn Kate Johnson is an American heptathlete. She is a four-time NCAA outdoor champion, and a three-time NCAA indoor champion (2006–2008) while competing for Arizona State University. She also set a personal best of 6,347 points by placing second at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, which guaranteed her a qualifying place for the Olympics. Johnson was a member of the track and field team for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where she wa coached and trained by Dan O'Brien, gold medalist in the decathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2008, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female collegiate track and field athlete.
