Symbolizing this new view was the fact that Barcelona ’92 brought, for the first time, members of the NBA Dream Team to the Olympic Games, with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan heading the US basketball team that won gold. The new Olympic order imposed by Samaranch – himself a native of Barcelona and the second-longest-serving president of the IOC – increased the business focus. Cobi, the mascot for Barcelona 92, with the Spanish medal score. There were an additional 35,000 volunteers (plus 15,000 more in the Paralympic Games) who had a big impact on the smooth running of the event, and proved its popularity with the locals. There were 169 countries, 10 more than in Seoul ’88, and 9,370 athletes. But mostly, the challenge was one of size: Namibia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania went as independent nations, the dismembered Soviet Union flew the white flag with the five rings, and Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia competed on their own after the breakup of Yugoslavia. With a budget of 154 billion pesetas (€925 million) to work with, Barcelona not only faced a major challenge in terms of getting Spanish athletes up to speed it was also faced with the games of reconciliation: South Africa was back following the end of apartheid, and Germany and Yemen had unified teams again. Any day, at any given hour, in the most unexpected Olympic discipline, another Spaniard would secure a new spot on the podium

Barcelona sportnation