Olympics
A sport-by-sport guide to the events at the Athens Games

The Associated Press

SOL NEELMAN Aretha Hill, a Renton High and Washington graduate, repeated as champion in the discus at the U.S. trials.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Related stories Games at a glance Quick facts about Greece A Greek decoder Seattle Times Olympics team

ARCHERY

The archery competition will be at Panathinaiko Stadium, where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. South Korea won men's and women's team competitions in 2000 and swept the podium in women's individual events. Italy boasts some top men's archers. Jennifer Nichols is the top U.S. woman, while 2000 silver medalist Vic Wunderle is back for the U.S. men.

BADMINTON

In a sport dominated by athletes from Asia, Denmark and the Netherlands also have some medal hopes. China has three of the world's top five men (as of late June), the top three women in the singles competition and the two top-ranked women's doubles pairs. Denmark has the top men's doubles team. The United States will be represented by one men's doubles pair, Howard Bach and Kevin Han.

BASEBALL

Baseball was a demonstration sport at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and 1988 Seoul Games and became a medal sport at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Eight teams are in the competition, and they play each other once in Round 1. The top four go on to the semifinals, with the winners advancing to the gold-medal game. Professionals were first allowed to participate in the 2000 Sydney Games, which the United States won, but Major League Baseball doesn't allow players on 40-man major-league rosters to participate, causing the IOC to periodically say it will review baseball's status as an Olympic sport. The U.S. team was eliminated by Mexico with a 2-1 loss in the semifinals of regional qualifying last Nov. 7. Japan and Cuba are the favorites, and the Greek team will have mostly Americans on it.

BASKETBALL-MEN'S

The United States is a perennial favorite, but many of the best U.S. players withdrew from the team or turned down invitations. Defending world champion Serbia-Montenegro and 2003 European champion Lithuania are among the favorites, and Spain and Argentina will field strong teams.

BASKETBALL-WOMEN'S

Twelve teams divided into two pools of six compete in preliminary rounds, with the top four finishers in each round advancing to the medal round. The United States won the last two gold medals and is favored again with Olympic veterans Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Dawn Staley, plus Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird. Many of the top foreign players in the WNBA will compete for their home countries, including Storm forward Lauren Jackson for Australia.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

The men's and women's fields each consist of 24 teams with a maximum of two entries per country. This will be the third Olympic beach volleyball competition. American men won the first two gold medals, but the U.S. teams will be underdogs this year. The Brazilian tandems of Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos and Marcio Araujo/Benjamin Insfran are the world's two top-ranked teams. On the women's side, Americans Misty May and Kerri Walsh have dominated the sport since 2003, winning 90 consecutive matches during one stretch. May and Walsh may get their stiffest competition from fellow Americans Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs, who have won five tournaments in the last two months. The Brazilians are also strong on the women's side. Partners Adriana Behar and Sandra Bede are the top two all-time money leaders on the international circuit; Ana Paula Connelly/Sandra Pires was the last team to beat May and Walsh before the Americans began their 90-match winning streak.

BOXING

Cuba has dominated Olympic boxing in recent years and will bring another strong team that includes Guillermo Rigondeaux, defending 119-pound gold medalist, and Mario Kindelan, 132-pound gold medalist. Cuba's Sydney team won four gold medals and two bronzes. However, it is in danger of losing the medal race to Russia, which won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in Sydney. The United States is sending nine boxers to Athens, trying to rebound from a disappointing 2000 Olympics where no American boxers won gold medals for the first time in 52 years. Middleweight Andre Dirrell is perhaps the most talented of the Americans, who lack vital international experience. Light heavyweight Andre Ward, a two-time U.S. champion, hasn't lost since 1998 and figures to be a medal contender.

CANOE/KAYAK

The manmade Helliniko venue pumps in water from the nearby Mediterranean Sea, making it the first Olympic whitewater course to use saltwater. That makes the boats more buoyant and causes more eye irritation from splashing. It also creates more foam, making it more difficult for paddlers to judge water surface.

CYCLING

Mountain — France's Julien Absalon, the Netherlands' Bart Brentjens and Norway's Gunn-Rita Dahle will be favored to win individual medals. Canada has probably the best depth top-to-bottom in the women's field. The United States is sending only one woman's rider to Athens. Road — the American men's side will be without Lance Armstrong, who declined an invitation. Track — France, Britain and Australia each won five medals at this year's world championships. And the Russian women, led by Olga Slyusareva and Svetlana Grankovskaya, figure to be strong; 2000 sprint gold winner Marty Nothstein is the lone returning medalist for the United States.

	THE SEATTLE TIMES American Laura Wilkinson will defend her diving gold medal.

DIVING

The Chinese are the sport's dominant country, winning a record five gold medals in Sydney. The only non-Chinese winner was American Laura Wilkinson, who pulled off a stunning upset in platform and is back to defend her title. The top U.S. male is Troy Dumais, who will compete in springboard and team up with brother Justin in synchronized.

EQUESTRIAN

The U.S. team has strong medal chances in all three disciplines, including an individual medal in dressage for the first time since 1932, and will challenge powerhouses Germany and the Netherlands for the team dressage gold. Debbie McDonald, in her first Olympics at age 50, leads the U.S. dressage riders on Brentina. Germany and the Netherlands are also favorites to medal in team show-jumping, with the United States hoping Chris Kapplers' Royal Kaliber will recover from injuries in time to compete for team and individual medals. The U.S. three-day team, with Kim Severson on Winsome Adante favored for an individual medal, needs some luck against the British and French.

FENCING

Italy's Valentina Vezzali has three golds and one silver in individual and team women's foil in the past two Olympics and should add to her total in Athens. The Americans, who have not won a medal in fencing since 1984, have their best chance in women's saber, where sisters Sada and Emily Jacobson, and Mariel Zagunis are all ranked in the top 10. The single-elimination format can produce unforeseen medalists in individual competition.

FIELD HOCKEY

The men's field consists of 12 teams, in two groups of six. There are 10 women's squads, in two five-team groups. The Netherlands, which won the men's gold medal in Sydney, is one of the top teams in Pool B, along with eight-time gold medalist India and Australia, which won bronze in 2000. Germany is a power in men's Pool A, along with three-time gold medalist Pakistan. On the women's side, Australia won gold at last two Olympics. The United States did not qualify.

GYMNASTICS

For the first time at Olympics, men's and women's teams must select three of their six athletes to compete on each event in the finals, and all three scores will count, leaving no room for error. In the past, five or six athletes would go and the lowest score would be dropped. U.S. women won gold at world championships last year, and men won silver. Both are expected to be in the medal hunt again. China, Japan, Russia and Romania have strong men's and women's teams. Women's all-around should be the highlight of the individual competitions. Russian Svetlana Khorkina is the one to watch in her final major international competition.

HANDBALL

After sweeping all medals in Sydney, European teams should again dominate. Russia, the reigning men's Olympic champion, is grouped with Spain (2000 bronze medalist) and Croatia (2003 world champion). On the women's side, 2003 world champion France is grouped with 2000 gold medalist Denmark. The United States did not qualify.

JUDO

Introduced as an Olympic sport in 1964; no country has dominated, but the Japanese are always strong. This year will be no exception with six-time world champion Ryoko Tani returning to defend her gold medal in the 48 kg weight class. Jimmy Pedro, whose bronze in 1996 was the last American medal, qualified in 73 kg; he retired in 2000 but returned in 2003.

MODERN PENTATHLON

The five-sport discipline created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, modern Olympics founder, was introduced in 1912. Women competed for the first time in 2000. Athletes compete in shooting, fencing, swimming, horseback riding and finish with a cross-country run.

ROWING

The U.S. women's eight comes in having won its last two world cup events. Great Britain is the defending Olympic champion in men's four and eight. In women's single sculls, Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus looks to repeat her gold-medal performance from Sydney. The U.S. rowing team has 15 members with Olympic experience, none with medals.

SAILING

American Paul Cayard, one of the world's best sailors, will compete in his first Olympics at age 45 in the Star Class after beating Mark Reynolds, the defending gold medalist and a four-time Olympian, at trials. The high-performance 49er, with retractable wings and the crew hiked out in trapezes, made a splashy debut at Sydney in 2000 and is sure to be one of the most interesting classes again. The Yngling — pronounced "ING-ling" — makes its Olympic debut 37 years after being designed by a Norwegian.

SHOOTING

Nearly 400 men and women will compete. Matt Emmons will compete in air rifle, prone rifle and three-position rifle. He is the first American to qualify in three disciplines since 1960.

SOCCER

None of the top four men's teams from 2000, including gold medalist Cameroon and the fourth-place U.S. team, qualified. Four-time world under-20 champion Argentina is left as the favorite in the 16-team field, although the Olympic tournament is tough to gauge because rules restrict teams to players under 23, with three exemptions. 2003 World Cup winner Germany and the United States are favorites in the women's event; defending champion Norway failed to qualify.

SOFTBALL

The U.S. team will again be a prohibitive favorite to win its third straight gold. Led by three-time Olympian Lisa Fernandez, the biggest challenge for the Americans could come from themselves. The U.S. team took a 110-game winning streak to Sydney before losing three straight and nearly missing the medal round. The Americans recovered to win gold. The U.S. team's pitching staff of Fernandez, Jennie Finch, Lori Harrigan and Cat Osterman is unmatched. Australia, China and Canada will also be in the medal hunt. This competition is crucial for the future of women's softball as an Olympic sport. The IOC has only guaranteed it a spot through the 2008 Beijing Games and will make another review later this summer.

SWIMMING

All eyes will be on American Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe of Australia. Phelps hopes to take a run at Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games. The teenager will be in five individual events and hopes to swim all three relays, as well. Thorpe won three golds and two silvers in Sydney, but nearly missed the 400-meter freestyle — his signature event — after an embarrassing DQ in the Australian trials. A teammate gave up his spot so Thorpe could compete. Natalie Coughlin and Amanda Beard lead the American women, while 10-time medalist Jenny Thompson is back for her fourth — and final — Olympics. The Americans hope to do even better than their remarkable performance four years ago, when the United States won 14 golds — the most in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1972 — and 33 medals overall.

SYNCHRONIZED

SWIMMING

Russia swept both events in Sydney while Americans didn't win any medals, the first time that's happened since this often-maligned sport joined Olympics in 1984. Sure to draw attention is Tammy Crow, allowed to compete by U.S. Olympic Committee despite pleading no-contest to vehicular manslaughter charges in a crash that killed her boyfriend and a 12-year-old boy.

TABLE TENNIS

The Chinese have dominated since the sport was added to Olympics in 1988 — they won every available gold medal in 1996 and 2000. The top three men and top five women in the world are all Chinese. American Gao Jun, who won a women's doubles silver medal in 1992 while competing for China, represents the United States' best hope for its first medal.

TAEKWONDO

American Steven Lopez, who won gold in 68kg in Sydney, will try for another medal in the 80kg weight class. Greece's Michalis Mouroutsos will defend his 2000 gold medal in 58kg on his home turf.

TENNIS

Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and the Williams sisters head a high-quality field, with ATP and WTA ranking points at stake. The hard courts are the same as those used at U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 30, so that favors Roddick and his 140-150 mph serves.

TRACK AND FIELD

Marion Jones was the darling of the 2000 Olympics after winning five medals. This time around, she qualified in just the long jump at the U.S. trials, where doping stories dominated the headlines. Though the United States has a young team, it will battle Russia in the medal count. Allen Johnson goes for another gold in the 110-meter hurdles but faces tough competition against China's Liu Xiang. Seattle-born Gail Devers made her fifth Olympic team, but is going for her first gold medal in the 100 hurdles. The women's pole vault could provide the best competition, with former world-record-holder Stacy Dragila going against top Russians Yelena Isinbayeva and Svetlana Feofanova — current record-holder and the first woman to vault higher than 16 feet. Felix Sanchez has not lost in the 400 hurdles in two years, and goes for gold there, while the latest Ethiopian sensation, Kenenisa Bekele, tries for a double in the 5,000 and 10,000.

TRIATHLON

After being shut out in Sydney, the U.S. team appears poised to medal in 2004 — Barb Lindquist and Sheila Taormina were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world. Australia's Loretta Harrop, second to Taormina at the world championships in May, should also contend. In men's race, New Zealand's Bevan Docherty will look to repeat his first-place finish at worlds.

VOLLEYBALL

For each gender, the field consists of 12 teams split into two pools. The top four from each pool advance to the quarterfinals to begin the medal round. The U.S. women, ranked second in the world, have a good chance to capture their first gold but face a tough pool that includes top-ranked China, three-time defending gold medalist Cuba and 2000 silver medalist Russia. On the men's side, Serbia-Montenegro is back to defend its gold from 2000. Brazil and Italy headline Pool B, in which the sixth-ranked Americans hope to make up for a disappointing showing in Sydney.

	STEVEN GEORGES / AP Tams Varga, left, and Hungary will try to win their eighth gold medal in men's water polo. Hungary is the defending Olympic and world champion.

WATER POLO

The first team sport at the modern Olympics, water polo was introduced in 1900. Women competed for the first time in 2000. Hungary, the defending Olympic and world champion, has dominated the Olympic competition with seven gold medals. The men's competition constitutes two groups of six nations in a league round followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and final. Australia won the first women's gold medal in Sydney, edging the United States 4-3 in the final. The Americans won the world championships in 2003 and have seven returning Olympians.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Most of Greece will likely be watching when countrymen Pyrros Dimas (187 pounds) and Kakhi Kakiasvilis (207 pounds) try to become four-time Olympic champions. Only three Olympic athletes have won four golds in same event. Neither is a favorite; Dimas is 32, Kakiasvilis is 35; and both are coming off medal-less performances in the European championships last spring. The big story might again come from one of the smallest competitors — two-time gold medalist Halil Mutlu of Turkey is only 4 feet 11 but can lift more than 400 pounds. Women's weightlifting returns after debuting in Sydney, and American Tara Cunningham (105-1/2 pounds, 48 kg) goes for a second gold after a surprise win in 2000.

WRESTLING

Can Rulon Gardner do it again, without having to beat Russian super wrestler Alexander Karelin? Gardner has had a series of mishaps and calamities since pulling off his "miracle on the mat" upset of Karelin in Sydney, but looks to be healthy and a gold-medal contender again. Otherwise, the U.S. freestyle and Greco-Roman teams don't look especially strong, but the Americans could get a medal count boost from a talented four-member women's team. Armen Nazarien (132 pounds, 60 kg) of Bulgaria tries for a third gold and Russian star Bouvaisa Saitiev (163 pounds, 74 kg) looks to rebound from an upset in Sydney to American gold medalist Brandon Slay.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More Athens 2004 headlines...