The event was won by Kim Yeong-Ho of South Korea, the first Asian man to win an Olympic fencing title.

Dmitry Shevchenko's bronze medal was Russia's first as an independent nation in the event.

[2] For the first time in the event's history, no nations made their debut in the men's foil.

France and the United States each made their 21st appearance, tied for most of any nation; France had missed only the 1904 (with fencers not traveling to St. Louis) and the 1912 (boycotted due to a dispute over rules) foil competitions, while the United States had missed the inaugural 1896 competition and boycotted the 1980 Games altogether.

The 1996 tournament had vastly simplified the competition format into a single-elimination bracket, with a bronze medal match.