SYDNEY, Australia -- When he finished his first 100-meter heat, sprinter Ato Boldon shook his head.
"Too fast, way too fast," he said.
The sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago had run a 10.04, which would not win the bet he had with his H.S.I. teammates. The wager among the group that trains under Los Angeles-based coach John Smith was over who could win his heat in the slowest time.
Boldon knew instantly he was a loser. The others, U.S. sprinters Maurice Greene (10.31), Curtis Johnson (10.30) and Jon Drummond (10.20) all ran slower times, but still qualified for the semifinal heats on Saturday.
Boldon's time was the fastest of the day ( Obadele Thompson , of Barbados, also won a heat in 10.04). Come Saturday night's final, you can bet nobody will hold back.
If he wins the 100, what reward does Boldon expect from his country? "Tobago," he said.
The line of the week was in the Sydney Morning Herald the day after two-time defending Olympic 400-meter champion Marie-Jose Perec completed her 6,000-kilometer dash to Singapore. It read: 1992: One gold. 1996: Two golds. 2000: One false start.
The difference a week has made for Eric "The Swimmer" Moussambani, now the most popular athlete around Sydney. The 20-meter-pool specialist from Equatorial Guinea climbed the city's Harbor Bridge with a newspaper cameraman in tow.
Police have captured one of two people who escaped from a prison located across from the Olympic Village and briefly commandeered a van with members of the Korean sports delegation in it. But one escaped convict is still on the loose. Who thought it was a good idea to build the Village across the street from Silverwater Prison?
It was on gymnastics competition manager Kym Dowdell's watch that the vault was set at 120 centimeters. rather than the correct 125 centimeters. Said U.S.A. Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi: "This would be like if you made the track the wrong size."
U.S. weightlifter Tara Nott, who stayed clean, and was belatedly granted a gold medal in the 48-kilogram class when the original winner, Bulgarian lifter Izabela Dragneva, was eliminated after testing positive for a weight-loss diuretic called furosemide.
Cell phones have caused problems at the tennis venue, where a match was stopped when someone was talking too loudly at courtside, and at the weightlifting venue where strategically timed calls from coaches to athletes near the lifters were allegedly placed in an effort to distract competitors.
Nobody will be able to go too fast Saturday in the 100-meter sprint finals at Olympic Stadium. Can Maurice Greene hold off training partners Ato Boldon and Jon Drummond ? And in the women's 100, we learn whether Marion Jones will have the first of five potential gold medals.
Cheryl Haworth, 17, of Savannah, Ga., who started lifting to gain arm strength, won a bronze medal in the 165-pound plus class.
Two people are killed and at least 65 others injured by 
Trinidad and Tobago sprinter 
The giant-screen televisions showing events in parks around Darling Harbour have become a popular way for people without tickets to capture the Olympic spirit. The crowds are as passionate as any at the venues and there are no lines or traffic jams.
Zero. In only the second dead heat in Olympic swimming history, U.S. swimmers Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin finished the 50-meter freestyle as co-gold medalists. It also happened in 1984 in the women's 100-meter free when U.S. swimmers Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer tied for the gold.
Marion Jones has promised five gold medals from these Games. She has to start by winning the 100 meters Saturday.
