Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles

Background

The men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1996 Summer Olympics marked the event's 23rd appearance, one of only 12 athletics events present at every Games. Five finalists from 1992 returned: defending champion Mark McKoy (now representing Austria), Tony Jarrett, Florian Schwarthoff, Emilio Valle, and Colin Jackson.

Jackson, the 1993 world champion and world record holder, was the favorite, with his main rival being 1995 world champion Allen Johnson. Ten nations—Cape Verde, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan—competed for the first time. The United States made its 22nd appearance, the most of any nation.

Competition format

The competition used a four-round format with eight-man semifinals and finals, as in 1960 and since 1988. The first round had eight heats; the top three from each heat plus the eight next fastest advanced to quarterfinals. Quarterfinals had four heats of eight, with the top four advancing, plus one additional hurdler due to obstruction. The 17 semifinalists were split into two semifinals, with the top four from each reaching the eight-man final.