1996 Summer Olympics.

« jump, the first African woman ever to win an Olympic field event. In the first Olympic women's soccer competition, the United States returned to world prominence with a 2-1 gold medal victory over China before more than 76,000spectators—believed to be the largest crowd in history for a women's sporting event.

The U.S.

team won the first women's World Cup in 1991, defeating Norway inthe final match, but had failed to defend the title in 1995 when they lost to the Norwegians in the semifinals and took third.

The Americans got their revenge in theOlympic semifinals, dramatically edging Norway 2-1 in sudden-death overtime.

After tying the game on a penalty kick by Michelle Akers late in the second half,forward Shannon MacMillan chipped the ball into the corner of the net ten minutes into overtime for her second game-winning goal of the Olympics.

In the final,offensive star Tiffeny Milbrett broke a 1-1 tie in the second half to give the United States the winning margin. Another first-time women's Olympic sport was softball, which also featured a U.S.-China final.

The United States prevailed in this showdown as well by a score of 3-1 to claim the gold medal.

The powerful U.S.

team lost just one game in the competition, a bizarre and dramatic contest against Australia in which a U.S.

player losta home run when she failed to touch home plate and dominant U.S.

pitcher Lisa Fernandez lost her no-hitter when Australia's Joanne Brown hit a two-run homer withtwo outs in the tenth inning to win it.

They were the first runs Fernandez had surrendered in a game since joining the U.S.

team in the fall of 1995.

The Americansrebounded in the medal round to beat China twice, the second time behind 34-year-old shortstop Dot Richardson's two-run home run for the gold. In baseball, the Cuban team defended the gold medal it won in the first Olympic baseball competition in 1992.

The talented Cubans outslugged Japan in the final,13-9, launching eight home runs off Japanese pitchers to finish the 1996 Olympics undefeated.

A disappointed U.S.

squad settled for the bronze medal after losing toJapan in the semifinals, 11-2.

In contrast to basketball's Dream Team, the U.S.

Olympic baseball squad was made up of amateur players, mostly college all-stars.However, baseball officials expect that professional players will be allowed to participate at the next Olympics, in Sydney, Australia, in the year 2000. In volleyball, the Chinese women continued their silver parade as Cuba won the women's gold medal with a 14-16, 15-12, 17-16, 15-6 win over China.

The Cubansbecame only the second country to win consecutive gold medals in women's Olympic volleyball, as they defended their 1992 title.

On the men's side, the Netherlandsbroke through to defeat Italy 15-12, 9-15, 16-14, 9-15, 17-15 and capture the gold medal.

The Dutch team had lost in numerous final matches in the past to theItalians, including the 1994 World Championships. In track and field events, American Dan O'Brien finally won the decathlon gold that many observers expected him to capture in 1992.

O'Brien, a formidable Olympiccontender who inexplicably missed making the U.S.

team four years ago when he failed to post a score on the pole vault, comfortably clinched the gold medal inAtlanta with 8824 points, 118 ahead of Germany's Frank Busemann.

The three-time world champion became the first American to win the decathlon since BruceJenner in 1976. In the women's equivalent of the decathlon, the seven-event heptathlon, there was only disappointment for three-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee.Seeking a third straight gold medal in the event which earned her a reputation as the world's top female athlete, Joyner-Kersee was forced to withdraw from theheptathlon in Atlanta after only one event with an injured hamstring muscle.

Syria's Ghada Shouaa replaced Joyner-Kersee in the gold medal spot on the podium.

Butin a display of courage and athleticism, Joyner-Kersee rallied a few days later for a come-from-behind bronze medal in her other Olympic event, the long jump.

Withher hamstring still sore, Joyner-Kersee's final leap of 7 m (22 ft 11.5 in) elevated her from sixth place into third in what will most likely be the last Olympic event ofher great career. In the sprint relays, a controversy arose surrounding the composition of the defending champion 4 x 100-meter team from the United States.

Shortly after Carl Lewiscaptured the gold medal in the long jump, pressure began to mount from various camps to name him to the relay team.

Lewis, who earned two of his nine careerOlympic gold medals anchoring the U.S.

relay team, failed to make the squad in 1996 after he finished last in the 100-meter race at the U.S.

Olympic trials.

Lewisalso failed to attend a relay practice camp as an alternate before the games.

However, there was some popular support for giving Lewis a chance to win a record-tyingtenth Olympic gold by naming him to the heavily favored U.S.

team.

Others argued that to do so would make a mockery of the selection process and be unfair to theother U.S.

runners. In the end, U.S.

track officials decided against naming Lewis to the team.

It would likely not have mattered, as the United States was soundly beaten by Canada inthe relay finals and had to settle for the silver.

Canada's 0.36-second victory was sealed by 1996 Olympic 100-meters champion and world record holder DonovanBailey, who crushed U.S.

anchorman Dennis Mitchell and the rest of the field to mark the first time the U.S.

relay team was beaten head-to-head in the event.

Theonly other times the Americans failed to capture the Olympic gold medal in the 4 x 100 relays were a result of disqualification (1912, 1960, and 1988) or boycott(1980).

In the women's 4 x 100-meter relay, the United States won the gold with a 0.19-second victory over the Bahamas, its fourth consecutive Olympic gold in the. »