The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from July 19 to August 4, 1996. A total of 10,318 athletes representing 197 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated. The games featured 271 events in 26 sports across 37 disciplines, including the Olympic debuts of beach volleyball, mountain biking and softball. A total of 24 countries made their Summer Olympic debuts in Atlanta, including 11 former Soviet republics participating for the first time as independent nations.
Robert Jan "Bob" Ctvrtlik is a retired American volleyball player who is a three-time Olympian, Olympic gold medalist, and a former member of the International Olympic Committee. He is a 1985 graduate of Pepperdine University.
Canada has competed at 28 Summer Olympic Games, missing only the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics and the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. This count includes the 1906 Olympic Games, deemed unofficial 43 years after they were held. The nation made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Canada competes under the IOC country code CAN.
The Czech Republic competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. It was the first Summer Games since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, and so the Czech Republic and Slovakia competed as independent teams. 115 competitors, 76 men and 39 women, took part in 110 events in 17 sports.
Jeff Wayne Nygaard is an American volleyball coach and former volleyball player. He was a member of the United States national indoor team in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He was a middle blocker. He also played beach volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with partner Dain Blanton.
Richard Schuil is a former beach volleyball player from the Netherlands.
Michael Dodd is an American retired professional beach volleyball player who attended San Diego State University. With his partner Mike Whitmarsh, he won the silver medal in the men's inaugural beach volleyball tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Since winning silver in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he has worked the Olympic Games of 2000 as a beach analyst and 2004 as an indoor analyst for NBC. In 2008, Dodd coached AVP stars Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal in the Beijing Olympics. Dodd also captained Team USA to a win over Brazil's best players in the inaugural AVP World Challenge in 2009.
Sandra Tavares Pires Nascimento is a Brazilian retired beach volleyball player. She won the gold medal in the inaugural women's beach volleyball tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, partnering with Jackie Silva.
Bryan Eric Ivie is an American former volleyball player and two-time Olympian. Ivie was a member of the United States national volleyball team that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He was a middle blocker.
Thomas Sorensen is an American former volleyball player who was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Marcelo Teles Negrão is a Brazilian former volleyball player who was a member of the Brazil men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona by defeating the Netherlands in the final. Negrão also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He played beach volleyball.
Tunisia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1960, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The nation has never participated in any Winter Olympic Games.
Saint Kitts and Nevis first participated at the Olympic Games in 1996, and have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since then. The country has not competed at the Winter Olympic Games.
Paula Jo Weishoff is a retired female volleyball player from the United States and three-time Olympian who played with the United States women's national volleyball team. As a middle blocker, Weishoff won a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where she was named as the tournament's outstanding player. She also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Caren Marie Alexius Kemner is an American former volleyball player and three-time Olympian.
Kristin Klein Keefe, more commonly known as Kristin Klein, is an American retired volleyball player who played as an outside hitter. She represented the United States national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing in seventh place.
Beach volleyball was introduced at the Summer Olympic Games in the 1992 Games as a demonstration event, and has been an official Olympic sport since 1996.
Yuliya Timonova is a Russian former volleyball player. Timonova was part of the Russian women's national volleyball team, winning titles at the 1991 and 1993 European Championships. She won a bronze medal at the 1994 FIVB World Championship in Brazil. Timonova also participated at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing in fourth place. On club level she played with Uralochka Yekaterinburg.
Jorge Garbey is a Cuban volleyball coach and former volleyball player. Garbey played for the Cuban men's national volleyball team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He won a gold medal playing with the Cuban team at the 1979 Pan American Games in Caguas.
