Olympics
Saturday preview: Swimming, gymnastics take center stage

The Associated Press

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The alpha and omega of the U.S. swim team are the main attractions Saturday on the first full day of competition in Greece — Phelps at the beginning of his career, and Thompson at the end. But there's action at venues across Athens in 19 other sports, from badminton to basketball to boxing.

And much of it will air — although not much of it live — on NBC and its five cable affiliates, which plan to pump out 411/2 hours of coverage altogether on the day after the Athens opening ceremony.

The men's gymnastics team, led by reigning world all-around champion Paul Hamm, Brett McClure and comebacking Blaine Wilson, will share NBC's prime time Saturday with the swimmers. The U.S. squad competes in the Olympic team qualifications, and it's expected to challenge China and Japan for the gold — a medal the Americans last captured 20 years ago in Los Angeles.

But the main focus will be on the four races at the pool, where Phelps beings his pursuit of Mark Spitz's gold standard of seven medals in a single Olympics.

Phelps is 19, listens to rapper DMX before he swims, and started swimming when he was 7. Thompson, 31, hopes to finish medical school, and won her first Olympic medal when Phelps was 7.

Phelps is an overwhelming favorite to collect gold No. 1 in the 400 individual medley, where he owns the world record. For Thompson, her first shot at medal No. 11 will come in the 400-meter freestyle relay on Saturday.

Her accomplishments are Phelps' aspirations. Thompson, who owns more medals than any other female American Olympian, enters her fourth Olympics with a chance at equaling several records. A gold, silver or bronze will tie her with Spitz and Matt Biondi for the most career medals for an American; a ninth gold would put her with four other athletes for the most career Olympic victories.

For pool prodigy Phelps, he's stalking Spitz's mark as the world (and NBC) watch closely — expect his efforts to remain a prime-time fixture for as long as it runs, and the swimming continues for another week. Following Saturday's race, he's likely to swim in another four individual events, plus his relays.

This will be America's first chance to check out the much-hyped Greek swimming venue, where the open-air pool will make sunscreen a hot commodity. Athens organizers backed off on a pledge to install a roof, so Olympic swimming will be staged in an uncovered area for the first time since blistering Barcelona in 1992.

The heat is less of a problem at night, when the finals are scheduled and a welcome breeze can appear. During the day, when temperatures routinely climb into the 90s, swimmers can duck beneath tents while awaiting the preliminaries and semifinals.
 
"I don't think not having a roof will be any issue at all," said backstroker Lenny Krayzelburg, a triple gold medalist indoors at Sydney. "Last night, there was a little breeze. It was perfect weather to swim in the Olympic Games."

Elsewhere on Saturday, medals were expected in cycling, diving, fencing, judo, shooting, and weightlifting as many of NBC's 103 commentators hit the airwaves from Athens for the first time. The cycling, along with the men's synchronized platform diving, will get some prime-time exposure on NBC.

Network coverage begins at noon and runs until 2 a.m. EDT, with a two-hour dinnertime break from 6-8 p.m. and a half-hour off at midnight. The afternoon session will include the live gold-medal finals for the women's synchronized springboard, along with men's gymnastics, volleyball and women's beach volleyball.

Early-risers and late-nighters will both a chance to check out live events, which remain scarce on the network schedule. The U.S. women's basketball team, looking for a third straight gold medal, team takes on New Zealand in its first game Saturday morning on CNBC.

And early Sunday, on the same network, there will be live men's basketball — although not the latest incarnation of the U.S. squad — along with rowing, soccer and beach volleyball.