Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

sent a delegation to compete at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in Atlanta, United States from 19 July to 4 August 1996. This was Aruba's third appearance at a

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

since separating from the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

. The Aruban delegation consisted of three competitors, track and field athlete

Miguel Janssen Miguel Janssen (born 5 September 1970 in Oranjestad) is a retired Dutch-Aruban athlete who competed in sprinting events. He represented Aruba at the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as three outdoor and three indoor World Championships. He later swi ...

, weightlifter

Junior Faro Isnardo Enrike "Junior" Faro (born 15 July 1978) is a weightlifter who competed at two Summer Olympics for Aruba. Career Aged 18 years old Faro went to Atlanta, United States to compete in the 1996 Summer Olympics, he entered the middleweight di ...

, and cyclist

Lucien Dirksz Lucien Pedro Lodevicus Dirksz (born 29 September 1968) is an Aruban former cyclist. He competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics and the 1996 Summer Olympics. During the 1992 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 1992 Summe ...

. Janseen was eliminated in the first round of the men's 200 metres, Faro finished 21st in the men's middleweight, and Dirksz failed to finish his event.

Background

The

Aruban Olympic Committee The Aruban Olympic Committee ( pap, Comité Olímpico Arubano) was established in 1985 after Aruba separated from the Netherlands Antilles. Previously, Aruba was represented by the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee (NAOC). It received recogn ...

was recognised by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1986. Aruba made its Olympic debut as a distinct territory soon after, at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, and they have participated in every

since. The 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, United States, from 19 July to 4 August 1996; 10,318 athletes took part representing 194 National Olympic Committees. Atlanta was Aruba's third time participating in the Summer Olympics. The Aruban delegation to these Olympics consisted of three competitors, track and field athlete

, weightlifter

, and cyclist

. Faro was chosen as the flag-bearer for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.

Athletics

Miguel Janssen was 25 years old at the time of the Atlanta Olympics, and was making his only Olympic appearance. On 31 July, he took part in the first round of the men's 200 metres, and was drawn into heat ten. He finished the race in 21.72 seconds, seventh and last in his heat, and he was eliminated from the competition. The gold medal was eventually won by Michael Johnson of the United States in 19.32 seconds, the silver medal was earned by

Frankie Fredericks Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's only ...

of Namibia, and the bronze was won by

Ato Boldon Ato Jabari Boldon (born 30 December 1973) is a Trinidadian former track and field athlete, politician, and four-time Olympic medal winner. He holds the Trinidad and Tobago national record in the 50, 60 and 200 metres events with times of 5.64, ...

of Trinidad and Tobago.

Cycling

Lucien Dirksz was 27 years old at the time of these Olympics, and had previously represented

at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. On 31 July, he took part in the men's road race, but failed to finish the competition. The gold medal was won by Pascal Richard of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 4 hours 53 minutes and 56 seconds; the silver was earned by

Rolf Sørensen Rolf Sørensen (born 20 April 1965) is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He is currently working as a cycling commentator and agent. Born in Helsinge in Denmark, Sørensen moved to Italy at the age of 17, where he has lived since ...

of Denmark, and the bronze was taken by

Max Sciandri Maximilian Sciandri (born 15 February 1967) is a retired British road racing cyclist of Italian descent. He competed as an Italian national up to February 1995, then took British citizenship. He won the bronze medal in the men's individual road ...

of Great Britain.

Weightlifting

Isnarda "Junior" Faro was 18 years old at the time of the Atlanta Olympics, and would, 8 years later, represent

again at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. In Olympic weightlifting a competitor is given three tries to lift a weight of their choice in the snatch, with the best of their three attempts counting. If an athlete posts a mark in the snatch, they then get three attempts at the

clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...

, again, with the best of the three marks counting. A final score is determined by adding the best mark posted in the snatch and the clean and jerk together. On 24 July, Faro took part in the men's under 76 kg competition, meaning competitors had to weigh in at or below 76 kg. In the snatch, he lifted 102.5 kg, 107.5 kg, and 112.5 kg; recording a mark for this phase of the competition of 112.5 kg. Later, in the clean and jerk, he lifted 132.5 kg in his first attempt, 137.5 kg in his second, and failed at 142.5 kg in his third and final try; recording a mark for the clean and jerk of 137.5 kg. His combined lift of 250.0 kg put him 21st and last among those who posted marks for both phases of the competition. The gold medal was won by Pablo Lara of Cuba with a combined lift of 367.5 kg, the silver medal was taken by

Yoto Yotov Yoto Vasilev Yotov ( bg, Йото Василев Йотов, born May 22, 1969) is a Bulgarian–Croatian weightlifter. Yoto Yotov is one of the greatest Bulgarian weightlifters of all time. He is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, three-time wor ...

of Bulgaria, and the bronze medal was earned by

Jon Chol-ho Jon Chol-ho (born 7 April 1969) is a North Korean former weightlifter, who competed in the middleweight class and represented North Korea at international competitions. He won the bronze medal at the 1989 World Weightlifting Championships in the ...

of North Korea.

References

{{NOCin1996SummerOlympics Nations at the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...