Beauts...
Although she won't walk in the Opening Ceremonies, U.S. women's weightlifting alternate Suzanne Leathers had a ceremony of her own in Sydney. With members of the U.S. weightlifting team as witnesses, Leathers and fiance Don McCauley were married Thursday.
Tanzanian marathoner John Stephens Akwahari, who struggled to finish in 1968 despite delaying the Closing Ceremonies, is in Sydney as an honorary coach. He is remembered for capturing the Olympic spirit. "My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race," he said. "They sent me to finish."
U.S. sprinters Maurice Greene and Jon Drummond, who took some time away from training to visit a children's hospital. They brought smiles to the faces of the young patients when they raced down a hallway while pushing two girls in wheelchairs.
Busts...
Damir Dokic, father of Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic, lost his bid to be accredited as a coach. The team said that to compete, Jelena Dokic would have to stay in the Village and wear the team uniform -- made by Nike, not her sponsor, Fila. And pops? He'll need to watch from the stands.
The Chinese national team, which left 27 of its athletes at home. Many of the athletes stayed behind because the Chinese officials feared that they would fail a test for the performance-enhancing drug EPO. Touted by some as an attempt to show they are serious about ethics, others say the Chinese should have policed their athletes earlier in the selection process.
The Olympic News Service cut information from the bios of two Danish athletes because censors felt the details were too personal to include. Those interested in badminton player Camilla Martin's risque cover photo for a men's magazine, or in handball player Camilla Andersen's gay marriage to Norwegian handball player Mia Hundvin must look elsewhere.
Whodunit has given way to whodopedit at the Olympics. And as the Games get under way in Sydney,
everybody is a suspect. Find out why Sports Illustrated's Frank Deford says
the specter of doping lurks over each and every gold medal performance in the next 17 days.
The Olympics opened in Atlanta with boxer Muhammad Ali, his hands shaking from Parkinson's Disease, lighting the Olympic torch. U.S. wrestler Bruce Baumgartner carried the U.S. flag into Olympic Stadium, but it was The Greatest who touched the hearts of fans around the world.
It is one thing to compete in the Olympics. You control your own destiny. It is much more stressful, 1960 decathlon champion Rafer Johnson tells CNNSI.com, to sit back and watch your daughter compete for gold.
Anger and Joy. The anger is from more than 100 bus drivers who quit their Olympics jobs due to low pay, lousy accommodations and bad food. The joy came from proud Sydneysiders who rallied around the torch as the relay crossed through their city.
President of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates brought the Games to Sydney. Will he be remembered favorably as another Peter Ueberroth, organizer of the 1984 L.A. Olympics, or as the father of a flawed Games, like Atlanta's Billy Payne?
