|
Complimentary Compliment
We all agree that four-time Olympian Bruce Baumgartner was an excellent choice to be the American flagbearer at last night's opening ceremonies. But even the formidable knees of the superheavyweight wrestler might buckle under the weight of this Olympian encomium tossed out by U.S. Olympic Committee vice president Ralph Hale: "If he cut himself he'd bleed red, white and blue. Bruce embodies that. Bruce is really an embodiment of that embodiment." After 19 positive drug tests in the '90s, you would think the Chinese swimmers would step lightly around the pool. Instead they've come out stomping. Before practice at the Olympic natatorium on Tuesday, coach Zhou Ming demanded that foreign journalists be removed, a request to which ACOG acceded. And the next day, upon arriving while the Australians were training, the Chinese dived right in, colliding with several top Aussie women. We'll soon find out if the mind games were necessary: China's world record-holder Le Jingyi and teammate Shan Ying are heavily favored in today's 100-meter freestyle. The Chinese aren't the only ones playing psych games, as was evident Thursday when two top 1,500-meter freestylers, Britain's Graeme Smith and Australia's Kieren Perkins, were in the same practice lane. After Smith, known for his awkward style, had powered by him, Perkins called out, "These Brits still haven't learned to swim a proper crawl." Nowhere to Go
 photograph by David E. Klutho After Russia's Denis Pankratov set world short-course records in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly in Paris in February, meet officials said they were out of specimen bottles and told Pankratov not to worry about giving a urine sample for the mandatory drug test. "I thought it was French hospitality," says Pankratov, the Olympic favorite in both butterfly events. But FINA, swimming's governing body, disallowed Pankratov's times because of the lapse in testing procedure, leading a Russian radio station to report that he had failed a drug test. When Pankratov's mother heard the broadcast she fainted. Pankratov threatened to sue France's federation for the loss of his records and for his mom's emotional trauma but relented when the federation agreed to pay for the Russian team's training for several months in France.
Boxers know the X-factor that can make or break Olympic dreams is the draw, which can easily match the two best boxers in a weight class in the first qualifying bout or open a clear path to the gold with a string of pushovers. Ask U.S. super heavyweight Lawrence Clay-Bey, who instead of getting an easy start against some Togolese tomato can learned that yesterday's draw pitted him in his first bout against 1995 world champion Alexei Lezin of Russia. But Clay-Bey, a world champion himself who beat Lezin the last time they met, doesn't have it as bad as flyweight Eric Morel, who opens against tough Maikro Romero of Cuba. Other difficult draws fell on lightweight Terrance Cauthen, who drew Mahamaticadir Abdullaev of Uzbekistan, and on light heavyweight gold medal favorite Antonio Tarver, who will meet Dmitri Vybornov of Russia. The boxers said all the right things about the draw. "It determines how hard you have to struggle to get to the podium," says Tarver, "but in the end, it's all on you." But the most telling sentiment may have come from coach Al Mitchell. "How important is the draw? It's everything."
photograph by David E. Klutho
Atlanta's Bob Romano is doing his part to promote international goodwill during the Games. Having read about Santa Fe, N.Mex., resident Wade Miller, who was told by ACOG that he couldn't order tickets by phone from "a foreign country," Romano has turned his house into the unofficial New Mexico consulate. The state flag flies over the lawn, and the walls are covered with tourism posters. "We'll serve New Mexican food," says Romano, who's also offering New Mex expats his home-brewed Bob's Olympic Beer ("imported from New Mexico"). In a diplomatic gesture, he got two volleyball tickets for Miller, who will arrive in Atlanta next week - if his visa is in order.
To guard against an outbreak of piroplasmosis, a serious equine disease, officials at the Georgia International Horse Park, where the equestrian events will be held, are conducting extensive tick checks. Under the direction of Georgia State Veterinarian Lee Brooks, a 65-member team wearing tick busters and tick pickers T-shirts has been examining every horse that comes onto the grounds for signs of the dread dermacenter variabilis (American dog tick). And throughout the 150-acre park, the team has been placing adhesive-covered cardboard with dry ice on it, which produces carbon dioxide, which in turn attracts the ticks. Three European horses that had previously tested positive for piroplasmosis and are quarantined show no signs of the disease. "The tick situation is under control," says Brooks. However, another outdoor hazard still plagues the center. Parts of the three-day equestrian course run through woods infested with poison ivy. There is no ivy busters brigade, but landscapers have been weed-whacking to make the course safe for spectators. As for the horses, according to one veterinarian, "It won't affect them, even if they eat it." The Games offer the perfect opportunity for athletes in less prominent sports to make their splash, show the true Olympic spirit, etc., right? Not always. The U.S. women's field hockey team closed its pre-Olympic practices as a precaution against distractions. "Everyone is there with a video camera, and it's not the press," complained coach Pam Hixon. How terrible that friends, family and fans want to record once-in-a-lifetime moments. Team members also voted not to disclose which of them planned to march in last night's opening ceremonies. They were worried that if the team was to lose its opening game against the Netherlands this morning, the players who marched would be criticized for having wasted their energy. First, no one would have criticized them; second, the itinerary of U.S. field hockey players was not the primary concern of anyone. Then there's the U.S. archery team, which this week elected Justin Huish as captain. Huish's response to this Star-Spangled honor? "I said I'd do it if nobody else wanted to." So don't think that high-profile Olympians such as the Dream Teamers have cornered the market on indifference and self-importance. To help ensure that his swimmers keep their goggles focused on the pool while in Atlanta, Canadian coach Dave Johnson had every team member sign a code-of-conduct pact prohibiting "inappropriate behavior," including "sexual activity." That despite—or because of—the fact that male swimmers were voted the world's sexiest athletes by Canadians in a worldwide Durex Condom Sex Survey. The scope of the term sexual activity has not been defined, but most of the team seems to agree that abstinence makes the heart grow stronger. "I'm here to do my best time," reasoned women's team member Guylaine Cloutier. "I'll have the rest of my life to have sexual activity."
SI Olympic Dailies
|
