At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 44 events in athletics were contested. There were a total number of 2053 participating athletes from 191 countries.
A total of two world records and 14 Olympic records were set during the competition.
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Athletes who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Note: Any world record is also an Olympic record
A total of 190 nations participated in the different Athletics events at the 1996 Summer Olympics.