|
|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Goodwill hunting Affable Aussies ready for Games
BRISBANE, Australia -- The sign on the road from the airport says it all: "Brisbane, Australia's most livable city." While Sydney is flashy and brash and Melbourne prides itself on its culture and sophistication, Brisbane is unashamedly low-key and proud of it. For years, Australia's third city was known as more "a big country town" than a thriving metropolis. And while the last couple of decades have brought significant changes, Brisbane's charm and friendliness remain in its attractive downtown area and lush, sub-tropical suburbs. Brisbane is excited to be hosting the 2001 Goodwill Games. The capital of Queensland is also a mecca for sports. The state that produced Australian heroes like Patrick Rafter, Greg Norman and national rugby captain John Eales is a perfect setting for this big-name showcase of athletic endeavor. For the next 12 days, more than 1,300 athletes from 70 countries will compete in 14 sports, vying for US $5 million in prize money in 155 gold medal events. More than 50 reigning world and Olympic champions will do battle in the high pressure, finals-only format. Breaking a world record will earn bonuses of $25,000 in weightlifting, $50,000 in swimming and $100,000 in track and field. Unlike Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane has never hosted the Olympic Games. Even so, this city of 1.6 million people is experienced in putting on international events. Brisbane was literally transformed when it staged the 1982 Commonwealth Games. Several of the sporting venues that were especially built will be used for the Goodwill Games. In 1988, Brisbane was revamped further to welcome the World Expo. One of the happy legacies from that event was the revamped South Bank area, which will provide an attractive focal point for this competition. Hosting the 1994 World Masters Games provided further proof of Brisbane's ability to put on a world-class event involving thousands of international visitors. So what about the 2001 Goodwill Games? I have little doubt that Queenslanders will come out in force to watch their beloved Australian heroes, especially in sports like swimming, track and field and cycling. The head-to-head format in swimming will particularly appeal to the sports-obsessed locals, who are keen to see the latest chapter in the intense Australia-U.S. rivalry. The possibility of world and Olympic champions Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett cleaning up in the pool will ensure sellouts at the Chandler Aquatic Centre, as will the presence of international stars Gary Hall Jr. (U.S.) plus Pieter van den Hoogenband and Inge de Bruijn (Netherlands). Australian sports fans are surprisingly well-educated and will also appreciate some of the track and field events in which overseas competitors promise to dominate. The duel between America's Olympic champion Marion Jones and the Ukrainian world champion Zhanna Pintusevich-Block will be a highlight. As will the high-caliber men's 110-meter hurdles final, which features Cuba's Olympic champion Anier Garcia , world champion Allen Johnson , from the U.S., and British world record-holder Colin Jackson . The 100-meter men's final is expected to feature an all-American duel between world and Olympic champion Maurice Greene and his main competitor, Tim Montgomery , while track legend Michael Johnson will run the 4x400 relay as part of his farewell season. Away from athletics, other international superstars in action will be America's Olympic champion Michelle Kwan (figure skating), Canada's Simon Whitfield (men's triathlon) and the all-conquering Brazilian women's beach volleyball team of Shelda and Behar . I was lucky enough to cover the exciting 1982 Commonwealth Games at which Brisbane shed its image as a sleepy cattle town to embrace the rest of the world. The 21st-century version of the city also known as "Brissie" or "Brisvegas" is less naïve and unrefined. Even so, the sports-mad population of this instantly likeable place should ensure a memorable couple of weeks. Australian-born Jason Dasey is a co-anchor for "World Sport", a 30-minutes sports highlights and news program shown on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
| |||||||||||||||||||||
