Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Flag of the United Kingdom
IOC code	GBR
NOC	British Olympic Association
in Atlanta
Competitors	300 (184 men and 116 women) in 22 sports
Flag bearers	Steve Redgrave (opening) Roger Black (closing)
Medals Ranked 36th	Gold 1 Silver 8 Bronze 6 Total 15
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. British athletes have competed in every single Summer Olympic Games. 300 competitors, 184 men and 116 women, took part in 175 events in 22 sports.^[1] The Atlanta games saw Great Britain's worst performance at a Summer Olympics since 1952, finishing in 36th position with a single gold medal, and 15 medals overall.^[2]

The "rock bottom" British performance at the Atlanta Olympics led to a period of soul searching about the state of British sport. Insufficient funding was identified as a major factor in the poor performance, and this led to a wholesale reform of how elite sports were funded, organised and supported in the UK: At the instigation of the then Prime Minister John Major, UK Sport was created the following year; a public body which distributes National Lottery funding for elite sports,^[2][3] Previously, due to a lack of funding, cyclist Chris Boardman had acclimatised to the humidity of Atlanta by practicing in his home bathroom with the shower turned on,^[4] and divers Bob Morgan and Tony Ally sold their Olympic kits while in Atlanta in order to raise funds.^[2][5] Leon Taylor, who would win a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, suggested the public humiliation for the British Olympic Association from the newspaper stories about Morgan & Ally's actions obligated them to bring in better athlete funding.^[6] Nevertheless, the single gold medal won by rowers Matthew Pinsent and Steve Redgrave ensured that Great Britain maintained its record of winning at least one gold medal at every Summer Olympics.