A Sense of Security It was business as usual for most athletes as they tried to stay focused on the competition by Peter King In the hours after the Centennial Olympic Park bomb had forever scarred the Centennial Olympic Games, athletes from all corners of the globe—small ones who play badminton, big ones who wrestle and every size in between—shared one attitude: defiance. The athletes' village took on the look of a boot camp yesterday. photograph by Jim Gund "We have to fight terrorism," said Michael Keck, a badminton player from Germany. "If you stop the Games or let this act interfere with the Games, the terrorist wins. We as athletes and all the nations of the world cannot let that happen." Said Greco-Roman wrestler and silver medalist Matt Ghaffari of the U.S., "If I could find the guy who did this, I promise you I'd kick his butt. No way can we let an idiot stop the Olympics." None of the more than two dozen athletes canvassed by SI thought the Games should be called off. Some were on their own competitive planets, oblivious to the biggest story in the world. U.S. table tennis player Jim Butler didn't even know about the blast until he was told of it by a reporter. Distance runner Phylis Smith of Great Britain just shrugged and said, "Something like this, we dismiss it." Many athletes, including table tennis player Tarik Hodzik of Bosnia and Herzegovina, felt pangs of anxiety. "I'm tired of hearing about people dying," Hodzik said, mindful of the senseless killing in his homeland. "But I was obliged to play today, and I had to try to block out what happened." All U.S. athletes are asked to carry beepers, and according to Ghaffari they got the following message at 1:30 a.m.: call and check in with your team leader immediately. Then return to the Village at once. Each delegation located its athletes, and many conducted spot bed checks. No country reported having an athlete injured in the blast or in the ensuing pandemonium. Still, the explosion left many athletes on edge. "I don't feel very secure," said Marie-José Pérec of France, a favorite in the women's 400 meters. "In our minds we are not at peace. This morning it was difficult. I don't feel well yet." For others it was business as usual. "I am here to practice and play," said Susi Susanti, a badminton star from Indonesia. "We are not supposed to worry about security, and I am not. Everywhere I look, there is security." In the aftermath of the explosion yesterday morning, Ghaffari walked the streets. He stopped two blocks from the bomb site, looking down at the mass of police lights and mobilized officers in fatigues. "You think this can't happen in America, but you can't hide," he said. "The thing I hate is, just like when you think of the Munich Olympics you think of terrorism, when you think of the Atlanta Olympics you'll think of the bomb in Centennial Park."

Photo Act A No-Brainer: Play On Mourning After Latest Sports Ticker roundup on the explosion The Fleming File

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