Olympics
10 men to watch in Athens

AP Breaux Greer will try to become the first American since 1972 to medal in javelin.

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Paul Cayard, USA, Sailing

Sailing typically doesn't draw a lot of attention at the Olympics, but don't expect that to be the case in Athens, where the sailing events on the Saronic Gulf were one of the first sellouts in the seafaring nation of Greece. One sailor in their binocular sights will be Paul Cayard, 45, of Kentfield, Calif., widely regarded as America's most talented overall sailor, and one of the best in the world. The five-time America's Cup veteran (most recently, AmericaOne, 2000), will make his Olympic debut by skippering a Star class boat with crew Phil Trinter. An Olympic medal, he says, would be the final touch on his sailing résumé.

Tim Duncan, USA, Basketball

Almost lost in the sourness surrounding NBA stars — Seattle Sonic Ray Allen among them — who chose for various reasons not to go to Athens is the one mega-superstar who never wavered: center Tim Duncan, likely to be one of the greatest international stars at the Games. Duncan, 28, the two-time NBA MVP for the San Antonio Spurs, will lead something less than a Dream Team of professional colleagues into Athens, where they'll face national squads increasingly drawn from the NBA ranks. Duncan, named to the 2000 Sydney team before withdrawing with a knee injury, has been a member of five previous USA Basketball teams and has played in 40 international games. With him in the middle and coach Larry Brown at the helm, Team USA remains the gold-medal favorite, in spite of the other player defections and ongoing problems.

	Haile Gebrselassie

Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopia, Track and Field

Perhaps the greatest distance runner who has ever lived, Haile Gebrselassie will likely use the Athens stage to close out an unparalleled distance-running career. The 5-foot-3 runner, a national hero in Ethiopia, owns two Olympic gold medals in the 10,000 meters. In the heat of Athens, the 31-year-old will seek to become the first man to win the same individual running event three times in a row. Gebrselassie is easy to spot on the track — he's usually out front, and he runs with a crook in his left arm, reportedly developed from running to school with books for years. His long-running rivalry with Kenyan Paul Tergat has been a track-and-field highlight of the past two Olympics. Staying on top in this one will require fending off one of his own countrymen — rising distance-running superstar Kenenisa Bekele, who recently topped Gebrselassie's 10,000-meter world record.

Breaux Greer, USA, Track and Field

Who is Breaux Greer? "Breaux Greer is a rock star," the man himself proclaimed as he was introduced to U.S. media this spring. And well he may be by the end of August. Greer, 27, of Athens, Ga., is a five-time national javelin champion who sometimes shows up to do what he does — "I throw a stick" — wearing face paint for inspiration. A disappointing 12th-place finish in Sydney spurred him on to return to the Olympics and earn his share of the spotlight. In Athens, the 6-foot-2 former Northeast Louisiana baseball star will seek to do what no American has done since Bill Schmidt in 1972 — earn a medal in javelin.

Gary Hall Jr., USA, Swimming

The son of another three-time Olympian, legendary sprint swimmer Gary Hall Sr., Gary Hall Jr. could move up to near the top of the U.S. all-time-medalists charts by medaling in his specialty, the 50-meter freestyle, and perhaps the 400 freestyle relay. Olympic fans have seen Hall, 29, mature from a brash, Deadhead malcontent at the Atlanta Games to a brash, seasoned pro seeking to place his name high on the all-time Olympic honor roll at Athens. A type-1 diabetic, Hall somehow balances a rigorous training schedule with as many as a dozen daily insulin injections. An active speaker and advocate for diabetes cures, he has become an inspiration to millions of diabetics worldwide.

Brendan Hansen, USA, Swimming

While the world watches Michael Phelps' gold-medal chase, don't be surprised if this determined Texan sneaks onto the gold medal stand more than once himself. Hansen, who turns 23 on Sunday, was the agony-of-defeat poster boy at the 2000 Olympic trials, finishing third — and off the Olympic roster — twice. He left no room for error at last month's trials in Long Beach, Calif., touching first in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke — and smashing the world record in each in the process. The Havertown, Pa., native is the first American since John Hencken in 1974 to hold the world record at both distances. His chief competition in Athens: Japan's Kosuke Kitajima and Australia's Jim Piper.

Kakhi Kakiasvilis and Pyrros Dimas, Greece, Weightlifting

Greece, a relatively small nation with an Olympic team of corresponding size, won't be up at the top of the medal-count boards for the Games in their own land. But the Greek flag may well rise at the medals ceremony for weightlifting, where two adopted countrymen can make history. Soviet Georgia-born heavyweight Kakhi Kakiasvilis, a Greek citizen since 1994, is one of only three men to have captured three gold medals in weightlifting. One of the others is Albanian-born Greek light heavyweight lifter Pyrros Dimas, 32, also a Greek medal favorite in these Games. Kakiasvilis holds the snatch world record in the 94 kg (207-pounds) division, with a lift of 414.5 pounds. A Greek Air Force lieutenant with Greek heritage, he has loudly volunteered to light the Athens Olympic flame. Dimas, so famous in Greece that he's commonly referred to by his first name, was chosen unanimously by peers to carry the Greek flag into the opening ceremony, an honor he also received at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Michael Phelps, USA, Swimming

The talented 19-year-old from suburban Baltimore, holder of multiple world records, will swim five individual events and as many as three relays in Athens. Some people — most notably his personal hypemeisters at sponsor Speedo — believe Phelps has a chance to win seven or more gold medals, equaling or eclipsing swim legend Mark Spitz's feat at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Then again, Spitz never had to swim against the likes of Aussie Ian Thorpe or the Netherlands' Peter van den Hoogenband. Both will challenge Phelps in events such as the 200-meter freestyle.

Ian Thorpe, Australia, Swimming

Thorpe, known as "Thorpedo" Down Under, where he is a celeb in Speedos, dominated the middle-distance freestyle events in Sydney and appears to have lost little form in succeeding years. An embarrassing slip in the Aussie Olympic trials — a literal one, as he slipped off the starting blocks and was disqualified in the 400 meters — nearly proved disastrous for Thorpe's multiple-medal hope at Athens. But a teammate, Craig Stevens, gave up his spot for Thorpe on the Aussie Olympic roster. Always a source of much fanfare and gossip, Thorpe, 21, made tabloid headlines this past year by being linked romantically to U.S. swim star Amanda Beard.

Compiled by Ron Judd from

The Associated Press, Reuters and nbcolympics.com.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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