Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres
The women's 100 metres was an event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There were a total number of 56 participating athletes, with two rounds, two semifinals and a final. Although both Gail Devers of the United States and Merlene Ottey of Jamaica had clocked the same time in the final at the finish line at 10.94 seconds, snapshot of their photo finish confirmed that Devers had edged Ottey out for the gold medal.
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics.| World Record | 10.49 |  Florence Griffith-Joyner | Indianapolis | July 16, 1988 |
| Olympic Record | 10.62 | Florence Griffith-Joyner | Seoul | September 24, 1988 |
Results
Heats
Heat 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Chandra Sturrup | 11.24 | ||
| 2 | Hanitriniaina Rakotondrabe | 11.36 | ||
| 3 | Irina Privalova | 11.42 | ||
| 4 | Zlatka Georgieva | 11.74 | ||
| 5 | Nataliya Vorobyova | 11.91 | ||
| 6 | Lyudmila Dmitriady | 12.04 | ||
| 7 | Ouk Chanthan | 14.82 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Zhanna Pintusevich | 11.20 | ||
| 2 | Melanie Paschke | 11.27 | ||
| 3 | Odiah Sidibé | 11.40 | ||
| 4 | Mary Tombiri-Shirey | 11.50 | ||
| 5 | Hermin Joseph | 11.56 | ||
| 6 | Cleide Amaral | 11.76 | ||
| 7 | Myriam Mani | 11.76 | ||
| 8 | Elvira Cabbarova | 11.96 |
Heat 3
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Merlene Ottey | 11.13 | ||
| 2 | Susanthika Jayasinghe | 11.18 | ||
| 3 | Ekaterini Thanou | 11.35 | ||
| 4 | Iryna Pukha | 11.36 | ||
| 5 | Heather Samuel | 11.44 | ||
| 6 | Yan Jiankui | 11.46 | ||
| 7 | Mirtha Brock | 11.83 | ||
| 8 | Sortelina Pires | 13.31 |
Heat 4
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Juliet Cuthbert | 11.06 | ||
| 2 | D'Andre Hill | 11.11 | ||
| 3 | Silke Lichtenhagen | 11.30 | ||
| 4 | Eldece Clarke | 11.33 | ||
| 5 | Petya Pendareva | 11.59 | ||
| 6 | Cydonie Mothersill | 11.61 | ||
| 7 | Michelle Baptiste | 11.92 | ||
| 8 | Natalie Martindale | 12.25 |
Heat 5
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Marina Trandenkova | 11.20 | ||
| 2 | Chioma Ajunwa | 11.25 | ||
| 3 | Myra Mayberry | 11.51 | ||
| 4 | Stephi Douglas | 11.61 | ||
| 5 | Zandra Borrero | 11.62 | ||
| 6 | Jerneja Perc | 11.63 | ||
| 7 | Beverly McDonald | 12.08 | ||
| 8 | Isménia do Frederico | 13.03 |
Heat 6
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Gwen Torrence | 11.11 | ||
| 2 | Natalya Voronova | 11.22 | ||
| 3 | Lucrécia Jardim | 11.32 | ||
| 4 | Katerina Koffa | 11.33 | ||
| 5 | Sanna Hernesniemi | 11.39 | ||
| 6 | Marcia Richardson | 11.42 | ||
| 7 | Wang Huei-Chen | 11.70 | ||
| 8 | Nester Geniwala'a | 13.74 | ||
| 9 | Juliana Obiong | 13.88 |
Heat 7
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Gail Devers | 10.92 | ||
| 2 | Mary Onyali | 11.17 | ||
| 3 | Andrea Philipp | 11.32 | ||
| 4 | Debbie Ferguson | 11.33 | ||
| 5 | Simmone Jacobs | 11.39 | ||
| 6 | Mireille Donders | 11.67 | ||
| 7 | Lee Young-sook | 11.88 | ||
| 8 | Elizabeth Chávez | 12.10 |
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Gwen Torrence | 11.11 | ||
| 2 | Marina Trandenkova | 11.15 | ||
| 3 | Chioma Ajunwa | 11.24 | ||
| 4 | Odiah Sidibé | 11.38 | ||
| 5 | Katerina Koffa | 11.38 | ||
| 6 | Hanitriniaina Rakotondrabe | 11.43 | ||
| 7 | Heather Samuel | 11.60 | ||
| 8 | Stephi Douglas | 11.75 |
Quarterfinal 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Gail Devers | 10.94 | ||
| 2 | Mary Onyali | 11.08 | ||
| 3 | Debbie Ferguson | 11.26 | ||
| 4 | Lucrécia Jardim | 11.37 | ||
| 5 | Andrea Philipp | 11.38 | ||
| 6 | Iryna Pukha | 11.42 | ||
| 7 | Marcia Richardson | 11.55 | ||
| — | Susanthika Jayasinghe |
Quarterfinal 3
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Juliet Cuthbert | 11.20 | ||
| 2 | Chandra Sturrup | 11.21 | ||
| 3 | D'Andre Hill | 11.21 | ||
| 4 | Irina Privalova | 11.40 | ||
| 5 | Simmone Jacobs | 11.47 | ||
| 6 | Ekaterini Thanou | 11.48 | ||
| 7 | Silke Lichtenhagen | 11.53 | ||
| 8 | Mary Tombiri-Shirey | 11.56 |
Quarterfinal 4
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Merlene Ottey | 11.02 | ||
| 2 | Zhanna Pintusevich | 11.14 | ||
| 3 | Natalya Voronova | 11.17 | ||
| 4 | Melanie Paschke | 11.18 | ||
| 5 | Eldece Clarke | 11.47 | ||
| 6 | Sanna Hernesniemi | 11.49 | ||
| 7 | Myra Mayberry | 11.66 | ||
| 8 | Zlatka Georgieva | 11.99 |
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Merlene Ottey | 10.93 | ||
| 2 | Gwen Torrence | 10.97 | ||
| 3 | Marina Trandenkova | 11.07 | ||
| 4 | Zhanna Pintusevich | 11.14 | ||
| 5 | Chioma Ajunwa | 11.14 | ||
| 6 | D'Andre Hill | 11.20 | ||
| 7 | Debbie Ferguson | 11.28 | ||
| 8 | Odiah Sidibé | 11.35 |
Semifinal 2
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Gail Devers | 11.00 | ||
| 2 | Mary Onyali | 11.04 | ||
| 3 | Natalya Voronova | 11.07 | ||
| 4 | Chandra Sturrup | 11.07 | ||
| 5 | Juliet Cuthbert | 11.07 | ||
| 6 | Melanie Paschke | 11.14 | ||
| 7 | Irina Privalova | 11.31 | ||
| 8 | Lucrécia Jardim | 11.32 |
Final
- Held on July 27, 1996
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| Gail Devers | 10.94 | ||
| Merlene Ottey | 10.94 | ||
| Gwen Torrence | 10.96 | ||
| 4 | Chandra Sturrup | 11.00 | |
| 5 | Marina Trandenkova | 11.06 | |
| 6 | Natalya Voronova | 11.10 | |
| 7 | Mary Onyali | 11.13 | |
| 8 | Zhanna Pintusevich | 11.14 |