Portugal competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.
A delegation with a record number of 107 competitors (83 men and 24 women) participated in 79 events across 18 sports. Two medals were won, one of them being Portugal's third Olympic gold, thanks to Fernanda Ribeiro's surprise victory in the women's 10000m over the 5000m Olympic champion Wang Junxia. This third Olympic title in the athletics reinforced Portugal's strength in this sport and in particular the long-distance endurance events. A bronze was achieved by the 470 class male team, reviving a successful sailing tradition in this nation's Olympic delegations.
In Atlanta, Portugal debuted in cycling, women's sailing classes, slalom canoeing, and in newly promoted beach volleyball, almost grabbing a bronze medal in the latter, on its first participation. In their second appearance, the tennis male team succumbed yet again on the first round to a Bahamian team. After 68 years, Portugal sent a football team to the Olympics and, in the end, it repeated Amsterdam's fourth place.
Medalists Gold Fernanda Ribeiro — Athletics, Women's 10000m.
Bronze Hugo Rocha and Nuno Barreto — Sailing, Men's 470.
Archery
Men's Individual Competition: Nuno Pombo Ranking round — 650 pts (→ 35th) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !Round!!1st half!!2nd half!!Total |- !Pts |322||328||650 |} Elimination rounds — 148 pts (→ 58th) 1/32 finals — Pawel Szymczak (POL) (→ lost by 152–148, did not advance)
Athletics
Men's events 100m: Luís Cunha Round 1 (heat 1) — 10.65 (→ 6th, did not advance)
800m: António Abrantes Round 1 (heat 5) — 1:47.73 (→ 5th, did not advance)
1500m: António Travassos Round 1 (heat 3) — 3:42.01 (→ 10th, did not advance) Luís Feiteira Round 1 (heat 4) — 3:38.09 (→ 5th, advanced as 4th fastest loser) Semi-final 1 — 3:40.31 (→ 11th, did not advance) Luís Jesus Round 1 (heat 2) — 3:44.65 (→ 7th, did not advance)
5000m: José Ramos Round 1 (heat 1) — 14:17.26 (→ 8th) Semi-final 1 — 14:24.81 (→ 15th, did not advance) Luís Jesus Round 1 (heat 3) — 14:08.87 (→ 11th, advanced as 9th fastest loser) Semi-final 2 — did not start
10000m: Alfredo Braz Round 1 (heat 2) — 28:50.58 (→ 14th, did not advance) Carlos Patrício Round 1 (heat 1) — 29:15.41 (→ 15th, did not advance) Paulo Guerra Round 1 (heat 2) — did not finish
Marathon: António Pinto — 2:16:41 (→ 14th) Domingos Castro — 2:18:03 (→ 25th) Manuel Matias — 2:20:58 (→ 46th)
20 km Walk: José Urbano — 1:25:32 (→ 31st)
50 km Walk: José Magalhães — 4:27:37 (→ 36th)
400m Hurdles: Carlos Silva Round 1 (heat 2) — 49.09s (→ 3rd, did not advance)
3000m Steeplechase: Eduardo Henriques Round 1 (heat 1) — 8:35.58 (→ 8th, did not advance) Vítor Almeida Round 1 (heat 2) — 8:48.16 (→ 11th, did not advance)
Long Jump: Carlos Calado Qualifying round (Group A) — 7,81 (→ 12th, did not advance) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !width=20%|1!!width=20%|2!!width=20%|3!!Result |- |7,36||7,81||X||7,81
Pole Vault: Nuno Fernandes Qualifying round (Group A) — 5,60 (→ 10th, did not advance) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !5,20!!5,40!!5,60!!5,70!!Result |- |XO||O||XXO||XXX||5,60
Triple Jump: Carlos Calado Qualifying round (Group A) — 16,65 (→ 10th, did not advance) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !width=20%|1!!width=20%|2!!width=20%|3!!Result |- |16,43||16,65||X||16,65
Women's events 100m: Lucrécia Jardim Round 1 (heat 6) — 11.32 (→ 3rd) Round 2 (heat 2) — 11.37 (→ 4th) Semi-final 2 — 11.32 (→ 8th, did not advance)
200m: Lucrécia Jardim Round 1 (heat 2) — 22.95 (→ 3rd) Round 2 (heat 3) — 22.98 (→ 5th, did not advance)
800m: Eduarda Coelho Round 1 (heat 2) — 2:03.22 (→ 5th, did not advance)
1500m: Carla Sacramento Round 1 (heat 2) — 4:13.57 (→ 3rd) Semi-final 2 — 4:06.70 (→ 5th) Final — 4:03.91 (→ 6th)
5000m: Ana Dias Round 1 (heat 2) — 15:57.35 (→ 11th, did not advance)
10000m: Conceição Ferreira Round 1 (heat 1) — 33:40.76 (→ 14th, did not advance) Fernanda Ribeiro Round 1 (heat 2) — 31:36.32 (→ 3rd) Final — 31:01.63 OR (→ Gold Medal)
Marathon: Manuela Machado — 2:31:11 (→ 7th) Albertina Dias — 2:26:39 (→ 27th) Albertina Machado — 2:43:44 → (47th)
10 km Walk: Susana Feitor — 44:24 (→ 13th)
Discus Throw: Teresa Machado Qualifying round (Group A) — 62,02 (→ 5th) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !width=20%|1!!width=20%|2!!width=20%|3!!Result |- |59,14||62,02||||62,02 |} Final — 61,38 (→ 10th) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !width=20%|1!!width=20%|2!!width=20%|3!!Result |- |61,38||60,48||60,02||61,38
Shot Put: Teresa Machado Qualifying round (Group A) — 15,91 (→ 12th, did not advance) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !width=20%|1!!width=20%|2!!width=20%|3!!Result |- |15,91||15,62||15,60||15,91
Beach volleyball
Men's Competition: João Brenha and Miguel Maia — 4th Round 1 — Michel Everaert and Sander Mulder (NED) (→ won by 15-8) Round 2 — Carl Henkel and Sinjin Smith (USA) (→ lost by 15-7) 17th place round — Javier Yuste Muniz and Miguel Angel Martin Prieto (ESP) (→ won by 15-8) 13th place round — Eduardo Esteban Martinez and Martin Alejo Conde (ARG) (→ won by 15-5) 9th place round — Emanuel Rego and José Marco de Melo Ferreira (BRA) (→ won by 15-12) 7th place round — Björn Maaseide and Jan Kvalheim (NOR) (→ won by 15-3) 5th place round — Carl Henkel and Sinjin Smith (USA) (→ won by 15-13) Semi-finals — Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh (USA) (→ lost by 15-13) Bronze medal match — John Child and Mark Heese (CAN) (→ lost by 12-5, 12-8)
Canoeing
Slalom AthleteEventFinalRun 1RankRun 2RankTotalRankAníbal FernandesMen's K-1158.72 18170.0028158.7230Florence Ferreira Fernandes Women's K-1212.19 13208.2017208.2022
Sprint Men AthleteEventHeatsRepechageSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankSilvestre Pereira C-1 500 m2:01.58 7 QScolspan=2 1:57.95 7Did not advanceC-1 1000 m4:42.728 QScolspan=2 4:31.20 7Did not advanceJosé GarciaK-1 500 m1:52.76 8 QR1:56.10 9Did not advanceK-1 1000 m3:56.064 QR4:05.683 QS3:48.868 Did not advanceJoaquim Queirós Rui FernandesK-2 500 m1:33.865 QR1:37.50 3 QS1:31.566Did not advanceK-2 1000 m 3:59.399 QR 3:36.495 QS3:22.27 6Did not advance
Cycling
Men's Road Race: Cândido Barbosa — 5:01:29 (→ 112th) José Azevedo — did not finish Nuno Marta — 4:56:49 (→ 78th) Orlando Rodrigues — 4:56:45 (→ 39th) Pedro Lopes — 4:56:45 (→ 48th)
Women's Road Race: Ana Barros — 2:37:06 (→ 23rd)
Equestrianism
Individual Jumping: António Vozone Qualifying round — 13.75 penalty pts (→ 69th) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !rowspan=2|Time!!colspan=3|Penalties!!rowspan=2|Rank |- !Obstacle!!Time!!Total |- |111.50||12||1.75||13.75||69th
Miguel Leal Qualifying round — 12.00 penalty pts (→ 59th) {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" !rowspan=2|Time!!colspan=3|Penalties!!rowspan=2|Rank |- !Obstacle!!Time!!Total |- |102.37||12||0.00||12.00||59th
Fencing
One male fencer represented Portugal in 1996.
Men's épée Nuno Frazão Round A — Vitally Zakharov (BLR) (→ lost by 15-11, did not advance)
Football
Men's Competition: Afonso Martins, Litos, Dani, Kenedy, Emílio Peixe, Hugo Porfírio, José Dominguez, Calado, José Vidigal, Andrade, Nuno Afonso, Nuno Gomes, Nuno Espírito Santo, Paulo Alves, Costinha, Beto, Rui Bento and Rui Jorge — 4th Group stage (A) — 5 pts (→ 2nd, 1 scored goal less than Argentina) July 20 | Washington D.C. — Tunisia (→ won by 2-0; goals by: Afonso Martins) July 22 | Washington D.C. — Argentina (→ draw 1-1; goals by: Nuno Gomes) July 24 | Washington D.C. — United States (→ draw 1-1; goals by: Paulo Alves) Quarter-finals July 27 | Miami, Florida — France (→ won by 2-1; goals by: Capucho, Calado) Semi-finals July 30 | Athens, Georgia — Argentina (→ lost by 2-0) Bronze medal match August 2 | Athens, Georgia — Brazil (→ lost by 5-0)
Gymnastics
Women's Individual All-Round Competition: Diana Teixeira — 72.609 pts (→ 66th) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !Round!!Balance Beam!!Vault!!Uneven Bars!!Floor!!Total
!Ia |8.812||9.425||9.112||9.187||36.536 |- !Ib |8.437||9.337||9.437||8.862||36.073 |- !Total (Rank) |17.249 (81st)||18.762 (55th)||18.549 (66th)||18.049 (86th)||72.609
Judo
Men's Extra Lightweight (–60 kg): Pedro Caravana Pool A Round 1 — Ewan Beaton (CAN) (→ won by waza-ari) Round 2 — Nigel Donohue (GBR) (→ lost by ippon)
Men's Half Lightweight (–65 kg): Michel Almeida Pool A Round 1 — Jose Perez (PUR) (→ won by ippon) Round 2 — Francesco Giorgi (ITA) (→ won by koka) Round 3 — Taro Tan (CAN) (→ won by yuko) 1/4 finals — Udo Quellmalz (GER) (→ lost by ippon) Repêchage A Round 1 — Bye Round 2 — Bye Round 3 — Israel Hernández Plana (CUB) (→ lost by ippon, did not advance)
Men's Lightweight (–71 kg): Guilherme Bentes Pool A Round 1 — Bye Round 2 — Loris Mularoni (SMR) (→ won by ippon) Round 3 — Vladimeri Dgebuadze (GEO) (→ lost by yusei-gachi, did not advance)
Men's Half Heavyweight (–95 kg): Pedro Soares Pool A Round 1 — Bye Round 2 — Detlef Knorrek (GER) (→ won by ippon) Round 3 — A. Sanchez Armentero (CUB) (→ won by ippon) 1/4 finals — Pawel Nastula (POL) (→ lost by ippon) Repêchage A Round 1 — Bye Round 2 — Bye Round 3 — Antal Kovács (HUN) (→ lost by shido, did not advance)
Women's Lightweight (–56 kg): Filipa Cavalleri Pool B Round 1 — Bye Round 2 — Ai-Chun Huang (TPE) (→ lost by yusei-gachi)
Modern pentathlon
Men's Individual Competition: Manuel Barroso — 5246 pts (→ 19th) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !rowspan=3|Event !colspan=3|Fencing !colspan=2|Swimming !colspan=2|Shooting !colspan=2|Cross-country !colspan=2|Riding !rowspan=3|Total |- !Vict.!!Def.!!Pen. !Time!!Pen. !Hits!!Pen. !Time!!Pen. !Time!!Pen. |- |11||20||0 |3:23.35||0 |171||0 |12:45.69||0 |75.07||30 |- !Pts (Rank) |colspan=3|670 (28th) |colspan=2|1248 (19th) |colspan=2|988 (24th) |colspan=2|1270 (7th) |colspan=2|1070 (5th) |5246 (19th)
Rowing
Men's Lightweight Coxless Four: Henrique Baixinho, João Fernandes, Manuel Fernandes (stern) and Samuel Aguiar (bow) Round 1 (heat 2) — 7:37.13 (→ 6th) Repêchage 3 — 6:15.82 (→ 5th) Final C — 6:27.07 (→ 3rd, 15th overall)
Sailing
Men's events Finn: Vasco Batista — 129 pts (→ 22nd) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !Race!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!rowspan=2|Total!!rowspan=2|Net |- !Place |16th||23rd||23rd||22nd||26th||7th||22nd||14th||16th||9th |- !Pts |16||23||23||22||26||7||22||14||16||9||178||129
Mistral: João Rodrigues — 42 pts (→ 7th) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !Race!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!rowspan=2|Total!!rowspan=2|Net |- !Place |14th||8th||9th||5th||2nd||4th||6th||12th||8th |- !Pts |14||8||9||5||2||4||6||12||8||68||42
470: Hugo Rocha (skipper) and Nuno Barreto — 62 pts (→ Bronze Medal) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !Race!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!rowspan=2|Total!!rowspan=2|Net |- !Place |5th||10th||17th||7th||4th||8th||9th||5th||2nd||12th||15th |- !Pts |5||10||17||7||4||8||9||5||2||12||15||94||62
Women's events Europe: Joana Pratas — 209 pts (→ 25th) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !Race!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!rowspan=2|Total!!rowspan=2|Net |- !Place |25th||24th||23rd||27th||25th||23rd||16th||24th||24th||25th||26th |- !Pts |25||24||23||27||25||23||16||24||24||25||26||262||209
Mistral: Catarina Fagundes — 133 pts (→ 21st) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !Race!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!rowspan=2|Total!!rowspan=2|Net |- !Place |False start||16th||19th||21st||15th||23rd||23rd||19th||20th |- !Pts |28||16||19||21||15||23||23||19||20||184||133
Open events Laser: Vasco Serpa — 74 pts (→ 7th) {|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" !Race!!1!!2!!3!!4!!5!!6!!7!!8!!9!!10!!11!!rowspan=2|Total!!rowspan=2|Net |- !Place |8th||3rd||10th||False start||3rd||9th||11th||11th||12th||16th||7th |- !Pts