| |
NOMINEE |
THE SKINNY |
| Overrated |
U.S. runners Suzy Favor Hamilton and Regina Jacobs. |
After Jacobs dominated the U.S. trials in the 1,500 and 5,000, and Favor Hamilton ran the fastest 1,500 in the world in July, two Olympic medals from this pair seemed possible. Then Jacobs got mysteriously "sick" right before the Games and Hamilton fell apart in her Sydney final. Both promised far too much and delivered far too little. |
| Underrated |
Michael Johnson |
MJ won his fourth and fifth Olympic gold medals in Sydney and became the first man in history to repeat in the 400 meters. Yet after his Atlanta double and the 200-meter trials disaster, he was only a footnote Down Under. History will write his story more boldly. |
| Annoying |
U.S. men's 4x100 relay team |
Their over-the-top gold medal celebration in Sydney wasn't the flag-defaming abomination that some have made it out to be, but it was silly and immature and it will haunt Jon Drummond, Maurice Greene (who should have known better and quelled the others), Brian Lewis and Bernard Williams for a very long time. |
| Breakthrough |
U.S. shot putter Adam Nelson |
He went from unknown Dartmouth grad with a Silicon Valley software job to one of the best throwers in the world, improving his PR by more than five feet and winning a silver medal in Sydney. |
| Uplifting |
Cathy Freeman |
If her gold medal run in the Sydney 400 meters didn't momentarily stop your heart, you don't have one. The roar of 112,000 countrymen beseeching greatness from one of their own is like no sound in sport. Freeman performed as if lifted by their voices. |
| MVP |
Marion Jones |
She set the bar too high, promising to win five gold medals in Sydney when she simply isn't yet good enough in the long jump and couldn't control the relays. Yet her haul of three golds and two bronzes, her transcendent 100-meter victory, her stirring leg on the 4X400-meter relay and her composure in the face of her husband's alleged drug bust were unforgettable. |
| Storyline to follow in 2001 |
Drugs |
There is a sense that the ugly and insidious war between the cheaters (everybody?) and the police is about to reach a boiling point. This could mean the end of many careers and perhaps even the end of many Olympic sports as we know them. Or it could mean sweet, clean competition. Either way, it's coming. |
