You're right, Terry. the closing ceremonies have not yet happened and I am eagerly looking forward to the Athens Olympics in 2002. Just 900+ days until the opening ceremonies. Throughout the Olympic Games, three flags continually fly: the Olympic flag, the hosting country's flag and Greece's flag. How perfectly beautiful it is to see the American flag and the Greek flag either side of the Olympic flag in Salt Lake city. In Athens, will there be two Greek flags? Will the Greek team enter first or just their flag and, as the host country team, enter last? I am still hunting for the Greek Olympic Team webpage. I can find the Nagano website and the 2004 website. The Baltimore Orioles, along with Major League Baseball, have stepped forward in an effort to help the Greek government field a competitive baseball team for the 2004 Olympic Games to be held in Athens. http://www.geocities.com/baseballgreece/olympic.html Official site of the 2002 Athens Olympics http://www.athens.olympic.org/Page/default.asp?la=2

SALT LAKE CITY WINTER OLYMPICS-VERY INTENSE GREEK PRESENCE. (Cultural, Scientific & General News Category) February 2002: The 2002 Winter Olympics started on February 8th in Salt Lake City, USA. During his stay in Utah's capital the Greek Minister for the Culture inaugurated the Greek stand which is situated in Salt Lake City downtown and in which is displayed audiovisual material presenting the 2004 Athens Summer Games preparation and inform the audience about the targets of the Cultural Olympics. The Minister had also proceeded in the unveiling of a Prometheus statue during a symbolic ceremony organized by Greek-Americans. The Minister for the Culture together with the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs attended a Greek oriented exhibit where they were presented the works of the Greek painter Mina Valyrakis who was voted as the 'Sport Artist of the Year' by the American Sports Federation and of the Greek-American Euripides Kastaris, an artist connecting the Olympic ideal with the 2002 and 2004 Games. On the other hand, the Greek Minister for the Culture had an appointment with t! he president of the Peking 2008 Organizing Committee and discussed the future cooperation between Greece and China concerning the cultural dimension of the Olympics. The Chinese part was very interested about the philosophy of the 2001-2004 Cultural Olympics. In this direction, the president of the Peking 2008 Organizing Committee indicated Greece's knowledge and experience on Cultural Olympics and expressed the willingness of China to be helped by Greece in the organization of cultural exhibits. During the meeting was decided the sign of a protocol of cooperation concerning the Cultural Olympics. ********************************************************************* Greekproducts.com Newsletter#22, February 2002

More rooms, no cars - That is what the government would like to see for the 2004 Games With accommodation and transportation shaping up as the foremost problem-areas in the preparation of the 2004 Athens Olympics, the government is prepared to provide tax incentives to private citizens for subletting their apartments to visitors during the Olympics and to severely regulate the flow of cars during the period of the Games (August 13-29, 2004). Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, speaking at a business conference on the Olympics yesterday, said a bill dealing with accommodation and transportation will be submitted soon to Parliament. The bill, still in the drafting stage, will provide a tax exemption for incomes acquired through subletting an apartment or house. Incentives will also be provided for people to leave their jobs and work as volunteers. Venizelos provided no details about how the bill will deal with transportation matters but gave a hint when he said that �we must forget our cars for 15 days.� Denis Oswald, chairman of the International Olympic Committee's Coordination Commission overseeing the preparations said yesterday that 2,800 rooms still must be booked for �Olympic family� - officials, sponsors and others - but said he was confident a solution could be found. The Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourism Agents accused the government of failing to act in time on housing hundreds of thousands of expected tourists. They estimated the number of rooms needed during the Games at 150,000 and said that most of the 40,000 rooms within a 175-kilometer radius from Athens were substandard. HATTA also demanded that rooms to be sublet be certified as meeting safety and hygiene standards. The government said no new hotels will be built in the Athens area for the Games. Oswald had an agreeable meeting with Venizelos but was especially blunt about time lost and the need for the government and organizers to stop bickering and get on with the task at hand. �It is vital that all the elements that constitute the lifeblood of the country work together, putting aside any quarrels... and cooperating in a coordinated matter. In my view, this is a civic duty and obligation toward the nation,� Oswald told the conference. The Council of State did its piece for civic duty yesterday by temporarily stopping the sale of a majority stake of the Maroussi Municipal Corporation to a European consortium which has undertaken to build a media village in the municipality, near the main Olympic sports complex. The Council of State will debate the motion against the sale by local residents and municipal councillors - including former javelin world record holder Sophia Sakorafa - on June 17. Motions and petitions against Olympic projects by local residents have been one of the main reasons for the delays in the construction of Olympic venues. In almost all cases, the Council of State has ruled in favor of the projects. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100012_06/03/2002_14121

ATHOC leader urges Cypriot volunteerism for 2004 Olympiad 07/03/2002 22:42:56 NICOSIA (ANA - D. Kalambakas) - Greece's Athens 2004 Olympic Organising Committee (ATHOC) President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, speaking at an event at a Nicosia hotel on Thursday night, called for Cypriot volunteerism in preparation for the Olympic Games. The event was opened with a video-taped greeting by President of the Republic Glafcos Clerides who urged the Cypriots to volunteer for the success of the Games. ''I call on them to unite their strength with the other Greeks for the unrepeatable success of the 2004 Olympic Games,'' he said. The ATHOC president, having said that 35,000 people have already shown interest to volunteer, underlined that ''the Cypriot people constitute an unseparable part of Hellenism. Cyprus cannot be absent from the first Games of the new millennium which is organised on European soil, particularly when it will soon be a worthy member of the European Union. We depend on your help and your active support. We are obliged to show the world who we are and what we can jointly achieve.'' Present at the event were political party officials, athletes and members of volunteer organisations. http://www.ana.gr/

FM speaks on Olympic Truce at Economist Conference Athens, 06/03/2002 (ANA) Foreign Minister George Papandreou gave a speech on peace and the Olympic Truce at the Economist Conference in Athens on Tuesday night on the issue of the Olympic Games. Papandreou spoke of the great importance of the Truce and stressed that it would be a great opportunity for 15 days in 2004, during the Olympic Games, to achieve peace in all the war-torn regions. Papandreou expressed the wish for the Olympic flame to pass from regions where there are conflicts, such as the Middle East, and bring even for 15 days peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. U.S. Ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller in his speech recalled the principles of Martin Luther King, as his great grandson Martin Luther King the 3rd was present at the event and signed the proclamation for the Olympic Truce, among the other hundred personalities which have already signed, the first being President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos. http://www.hri.org/news/greek/ana/2002/02-03-06.ana.html#03

Learn about the history of the Olympic Games from the time when athletic contests were held during religious ceremonies until the First International Olympic Games in 1896. (Prehistory, Antiquity, Revival). Athletic Events in Prehistory Hippias of Elis, a sophist of the fifth century BC, was the first to compile the initial victor list of the Olympic games. From him we learn that the first athletic contest, the foot race, was held at the sacred place of Olympia, in western Peloponnese, for the first time in 776 BC, in honor of the Olympian Zeus. Later ancient sources inform us that the Olympic festival gained considerable importance, ranked among the largest and most famous Panhellenic festivals by the time of early 5th century. The young boxers, a fresco from Thera, ca. 1550 BC. Athens, National Archaeological Museum. More here: http://www.fhw.gr/projects/olympics/ John

Thank you for this link. I will be referring to it frequently and posting more current and historic information before the games actually begin. I plan to be totally immersed in these games because it is as close to Athens I am going to get in this life, though my heart and imagination have been there since I was a child. Please tell me it is written in English. I will go look...

Court decides in favor of Olympic works, regeneration The planned construction of sports venues for the Olympic Games along the Faliron Bay was approved by the Council of State yesterday. The decision will allow the �regeneration� of areas that will accommodate venues for beach volleyball, boxing, tae kwon do and, eventually, stadiums, marinas and gymnasiums. There are also plans to fill in 20.8 hectares of the bay. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/news/politics_3584960KathiLev&xml/&aspKath/politics.asp?fdate=09/03/2002

oops!

nough water, but not for trees Athens should have enough water to cope with the increased demand during the 2004 Olympic Games, according to the head of the Athens-Piraeus Water Company (EYDAP) Dimitris Xenos, who, nonetheless, warned against planting trees that require irrigation as EYDAP would not provide water for this purpose. �In the Faliron Delta, we are prepared to supply recycled water for hydrophilic (water-loving) trees. But we are asking that the rest of the trees scheduled to be planted in Attica, about one million of them, should not require watering. There are other trees that do not need to be irrigated,� he said yesterday, addressing the opening of the Hydrorama 2002 conference, which ends today, the World Day for Water. Xenos said that average daily water consumption during the Games, to be held in August 2004, was expected to be about 1.8 million cubic meters, according to the worst case scenario of a serious drought. �We at EYDAP believe that consumption (during the Games) will be around 1.6 million cubic meters per day. At present, the average daily consumption in August and September is 1.4 million cubic meters,� he said. Rain and snowfall this past winter have topped up EYDAP�s reservoirs, which now hold 536 million cubic meters of water, enough for two years, said Xenos, adding that almost 100 percent of snowfall was retrievable, but only 4-6 percent of rainfall. The previous hydrological year (September 2000 to October 2001) saw the lowest precipitation in the past decade. Greece had also faced a dry period in the late 1980s and early 1990s. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100015_22/03/2002_14663

Xenos is so close to being a word meaning "without water", I gave it a double reading!

OVER 100 GREEK-ORIGIN POLICE OFFICERS WILL BE 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES VOLUNTEERS Melbourne, 26 March 2002 (17:14 UTC+2) Over 100 Greek-Australian police officers from Melbourne declared their readiness to do volunteer work within the framework of the 2004 Olympic Games Police and Operational Security. General Secretary Dimitris Dollis, responsible for the Greeks Living Abroad, welcomed the proposal and pledged to bring the issue to the responsible government ministry. He underlined that this initiative deserves to be praised and it is a proof of the love the second and third generation Greeks have in their hearts for the homeland of their ancestors. http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=258996

Shall there be bull vaulting as a exhibition sport this year? see http://star.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/Mirror/olympics/prehistory/minoan.html

2004 Games environment chief denies that ambitious planting plan faces downsizing because of delays BY JOHN HADOULIS GREECE is a beautiful land with an amazing environment, and we intend to build upon this fact. This is what we want to show to billions of viewers during the Athens 2004 Games and to the millions of visitors who will follow thereafter." This excerpt comes from a memorandum signed in October 2001 between the Athens 2004 Organising Committee (ATHOC) and the ministry of environment, town planning and public works, calling for the planting of about 1,500 hectares of trees, bushes, flowers and greens in the parched Games host city. The move was heralded as yet another benefit accruing to Athens because of the Olympics. Studies show that the average Athenian currently has access to 2.5m2 of greenery. In contrast, Washington provides an average 50m2 of green space to each citizen, as opposed to 25m2 in Vienna, 13m2 in Berlin, 10m2 in Rome and 9m2 in London. But a few days after the memorandum was signed by then public works minister Costas Laliotis and ATHOC president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the former left his post and little has been heard (or seen) of this ambitious programme since. Trees need time In contrast to the venue construction front, where organisers are also redoubling their efforts to make up for lost time, tree-planting is a somewhat more complicated business. "Plants aren't like a construction which can be erected in a year, a month or a day," says forester George Douros. "Even having them in place when the Games are held [in August 2004] does not automatically mean that you have the desired greenery. Trees need time to adjust." Athens intends to plant some 290,000 trees, in addition to millions of bushes, at Olympic venues, the Olympic Village and alongside roads. And to do it right, Douros observes, the venues need to be ready beforehand. "Planting is absolutely the last thing you do. All building activity must be completed before this process can begin." Most of Athens' new venues are scheduled to be completed after November 2003, many in January 2004. Planting is normally carried out in autumn. "Since we're constructing new buildings, there is no way they can be ready in two years' time and have the proper greenery on top of that. No way," argues Douros. More... http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.prnt_article?e=C&f=12954&t=01&m=A08&aa=1

Please plant those ancient olive trees somewhere. Don't just cut them down!

Athens 2004 Organising Committee (ATHOC) President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki presented the two mascots of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games at the Zappeion Hall in Athens on Thursday. The two mascots were created on the model of an ancient Greek doll dating back to the 7th century B.C. and were named ''Phoebus'' and ''Athena.''

Greeks model Olympic mascots on wrong Homer Helena Smith in Athens Sunday April 21, 2002 The Observer They have been likened to a pair of post-disaster mutants, an unmentionable part of the male anatomy, condoms, and perhaps worst of all, the Simpsons. As murky as their preparations for the 2004 Olympics may be, the Greeks are making one thing very clear: they loath Ph?vos and Athen?, the cartoon mascots that will symbolise the world's most cherished sporting event when the games return to Athens. In the two weeks since the ungainly duo were unveiled, Hellenes have lambasted them as an outrageous affront to the nation's cultural heritage. Although inspired by a seventh century BC terracotta figurine and given ancient Greek names - Ph?vos is another name for Apollo the god of music and light, and Athen? the goddess of wisdom - the smiling, bell-shaped twin siblings have been denounced for being decidedly un-Greek. Even worse, they have unbecoming torsos, huge, flat feet - and four toes, in the style of the four-fingered Simpsons. 'If we see these things at the opening ceremony, it will be a national catastrophe,' snarled filmmaker Yiannis Smaragdis. 'No matter how much I try to be positive, they just seem to be so very tasteless,' lamented popular Athenian actress Dina Konsta. Informal polls have shown that 75 per cent of the population agree. The mascots' creator, little-known Greek artist Spyros Gogos, had hoped the brother and sister images would represent all the values encompassed by the Olympic ideal: the brotherhood of man, equality of the sexes, and as fun-loving children, participation in the games irrespective of victory. No other mascot to date, the Games' organisers declared, had managed so successfully to marry the past with the present. In Ph?vos and Athen?, the world had two gods in human form to represent the ultimate in human competition. 'The 2004 Olympic mascots are unique,' Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the Games' president said somewhat defensively. 'They have a long history, as well as a modern face.' The furore adds to the woes surrounding Athens 2004. Since winning its bid for the Olympics in 1997, Athens has been savagely criticised for the chaotic way it has prepared for them. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said Greece would need 'to run a marathon at a sprinter's pace' if it wanted to put on a problem-free Games. Delays in the construction of key sports venues, including the Olympic village, have frayed nerves. Refurbishment of the main stadium is so behind schedule there will be no time for test events. Foot-dragging on infrastructure projects, such as vital bridges and roads, has led to several works being cancelled. This month, Denis Oswald, the IOC's top inspector for Athens 2004, said the lack of suitable hotels in the Greek capital 'and chaotic plans to build new ones' was particularly worrying. Plans to host visitors in cruise liners berthed in the port of Piraeus would not solve the problem, he said. There were not only security concerns but the worry of people being trapped in Athens' notorious traffic jams. Fears of the Games being marred by a terrorist strike have increased dramatically since 11 September. As the home of November 17, the terrorist group who murdered British defence attach?, Brigadier Stephen Saunders in June 2000, Greece is viewed as Europe's 'soft underbelly'. 'Security and transport will be a concern till the end' groaned Oswald. As will in-fighting between the different ministeries and agencies handling the Games. 'We can't seem to agree on anything,' sighed one Olympics official. Ph?vos and Athen?, Greece's maligned mascots, would surely agree. http://observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,687827,00.html

ATHENS 2004 - Judo During the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games, Judo competitions will be staged in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall, which has a seating capacity of 8,000. Competition events will take place within the span of seven days (August 14-20). Daily, one women�s and one men�s weight category will be completed, starting with the lighter weight categories. Preliminaries and repechage (a second chance for defeated athletes in the first and second round) will be held at 10:30 and finals at 16:30. It is estimated that as many as 386 judo athletes from 90 countries will compete in the 2004 Olympic Games. http://www.athens.olympics.org/page/default.asp?id=3328&la=2 Remember the word "repechage" you will hear it often in rowing and other sports including the judo explained above. More about Judo at the link listed above.

ATHENS 2004 - Triathlon The sport of triathlon in the 2004 Olympics will be staged in the wider area of the Municipality of Vouliagmeni in southern Athens. The swimming will take place at one of the most famous beaches, Oceanida. The water quality is excellent and the beach has all the necessary facilities. The start will take place from a floating pontoon. The cycling and running will be held on the �mountainous� side of the municipality, in scenery where the mountains and sea alternate along the whole route. The cycling route will have intensive technical characteristics with constant ascents and descents, and spectators will line the whole route. Only motorcyclists carrying camera operators and judges will be allowed to enter the competitive course of the cycling section. As is required, there is provision for liquid supply stations for the athletes (a supply of water, isotonic drinks as well as a wet sponge) every 1 km. During cycling, there will be 6 pits with wheels (wheel stations) should someone get a puncture. The running will be staged in three laps of 3.3 km. http://www.athens.olympics.org/page/default.asp?id=2578&la=2

A Special Olympics athlete lights the flame... EPA With the Acropolis for a backdrop, a Special Olympics athlete lights the flame yesterday for the 15th anniversary celebration of Greece�s Special Olympics committee. In all, 2,002 Special Olympic athletes from 21 countries from all the world will participate in the Games, which open in Athens today and end on Friday.

Greece Blames 2004 Works Delays on Ecologists HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Greece has blamed environmentalists and archaeologists for the delays in its preparations for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Speaking at a symposium in Hamburg Friday, Greek government spokesman Telemachos Hytiris admitted Greece had wasted valuable time but said authorities had to cope with a number of concerns. "There are indeed delays at various sites," Hytiris said in the northern German port city, which is seeking to host the 2012 Summer Games. "We have wasted time coordinating with the responsible authorities." The International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned Greece two years ago it risked the success of the Games because of delays, bureaucracy and infighting. Hytiris said protests and court action by concerned groups had played a role. "A lot of environmentalists protest and go to court," he added. He said that in a country layered with millennia of cultural treasures, an archaeologist has to be on hand at every construction site. "No matter where one digs, something is always found," he said. "And then it has to be decided if this is an archaeological site." Hytiris, recently assigned by Prime Minister Costas Simitis to take over international and local publicity for the Games, said the press had also been a problem. "They are always looking for bad news and scandals," he said. Earlier this month the IOC gave Greece a rare dose of praise for speeding up the troubled preparations for the Games, but warned that deadlines remained tight. Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch flashed Athens a yellow card two years ago, issuing veiled warnings that the IOC would move the Games unless Greece started to meet its preparation deadlines. Since then, Simitis has taken personal charge of the effort and appointed Gianna Angelopoulos as head of the Greek organizing committee. http://news.findlaw.com/sports/s/20020419/olympicsgreecedc.html

You can bet if I lived in Greece, I would have a well-worked garden because I would be looking for anything older than yesterday. I guess having a civilization so very ancient and notable can be a hindrance. Britain encounters the same difficulty with finding antiquities no matter where they dig!

School Olympiad teaches culture By Michelle Hunter St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau/The Times-Picayune (Lousiana) When Chalmette Middle School sixth-graders channeled the spirit of ancient Greece for their Olympic games Friday, the event's organizer had to bypass authenticity for plain old decency. Back in 776 B.C., Greeks traditionally competed "in the buff" for the Olympics. But teacher Monica Braud had her students don homemade togas over their physical education uniforms. "We didn't want them running around in the nude," she said laughing. The school held its third annual Greek Olympiad, which is more like a glorified field day for sixth-graders. It concludes the students' study of ancient Greece in their social studies classes, Braud said. "This is a fun activity that goes along with the unit," she said. The 250 students were divided into teams named after Greek city-states -- the Corinthians, the Argives, the Spartans and the Athenians -- and competed in events such as the javelin throw, discus, a marathon and water balloon toss. For those who preferred to flex their brain instead of their brawn, there were games of Pictionary, puzzles and math relays. Although the event was primarily linked to social studies, Braud said the school tried to incorporate every subject area. Joshua McGaha, a 13-year-old from the Argives, helped his team win the overall gold medal for the morning competition by managing to stay dry during the water balloon throw. He was a bit skeptical about taking part in the games but later said, "I never knew it was going to be this much fun." Rebecca Ortiz, 13, said she had second thoughts about making a Greek fashion statement. "I was like, �Nah, I'm not going to walk around in a toga all day.' But it's been fun with my friends doing it," Ortiz said. Speaking of togas, several students came garbed in their parents' best paisley and floral print sheets. Joshua Gauthier, 13, had a kind of Scottish kilt thing happening with his blue, green and black-plaid toga. The sheet, he said, was from his sister's bed. http://www.nola.com/archives/t-p/index.ssf?/newsstory/b_greek20.html

I always associated a toga with Rome, though my one adventure in wearing one was for the Panhellenic Assiciation Ball at which I was a chaperone - a mere year after I had graduated from college. It was very odd. I was full of safety pins and was miserable.

Greek Gymnasts shine again Elevating the national team�s presence on the international gymnastics circuit, Greek athletes added to recent successes by acquiring three medals � two gold and one silver � at the Men�s European Gymnastics Championships in Patras, western Greece, over the weekend. Vassilis Tsokalidis lived up to earlier signs of promise by winning one of the Greek team�s two gold medals, on the parallel bars event with a score of 9.837. Last summer he had ended seventh in the same event at the World Championships in Ghent, Belgium. Teammate Vlassis Maras, who had also made his arrival in Ghent with gold in the high bar event, consolidated his international position by adding a European title to Ghent�s glory. Judges handed him a score of 9.812. France�s Florent Maree ended second with 9.712, and Igor Cassina of Italy third with 9.687. Demosthenes Tambakos, a silver medalist at the Sydney Olympics on the rings, won silver in the event with 9.737. Bulgarian Jordan Jovtchev deprived him of gold with 9.750. Last weekend, the national team had its first-ever win by a female athlete in gymnastics, at either senior or junior level, in the Europeans, also held in Patras. Maria Mastroyiannopoulou delighted local fans with a silver medal � at junior level � on the uneven parallel bars. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_sport_100012_29/04/2002_15979

AP Gold-medal winner Vlassis Maras of Greece (c) is congratulated by Florent Maree of France (who won silver) and Igor Cassina of Italy (bronze) after the high bar event at the Men's European Gymnastics Championships in Patras yesterday. Vassilis Tsokalidis won the team's other gold medal on the parallel bars event and Demosthenes Tambakos, a silver medalist at Sydney Olympics on the rings, won silver yesterday. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100011_29/04/2002_15956

Cyprus to ship metal for Olympic medals to Greece Cyprus has started building a ship to carry metal to Greece for the manufacture of bronze medals in the Athens 2004 Olympics. The speaker of the Cypriot parliament, Dimitris Christofias, attended a ceremony to mark the start of the Kerynia's construction in Limassol. The bronze was donated by the Cypriot Greek Metals Company. http://www.gogreece.com/news/headlines/story.html?id=4148

2004�s fine line on smoking Athens 2004 is aiming for a non-smoking Games, the Olympic organizers said yesterday, but, this being Greece � the home of manic smokers � they also stressed that they want smokers to be happy and will set aside special smoking areas. �The aim of Athens 2004 is to hold a non-smoking Games, but without disturbing the fine balance between the rights of smokers and non-smokers,� the organizers said. The statement added that a non-smoking policy has applied since the 1992 Barcelona Games �without meeting resistance from any participants in the Olympics, in any capacity.� Therefore, smoking will be banned at all competition and non-competition venues (including the media center), bleachers and auxiliary areas. �However, smoking areas will be set aside at all facilities, which will meet all fire safety requirements and health regulations (such as being far from eating areas). The smoking areas will have the necessary infrastructure to host smokers, such as being in a shady area with chairs and tables and being near refreshment areas,� Athens 2004 said. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100013_09/05/2002_16216

AHave you attened an Olympics, Marci? Anyone?

Alas No. I always seem to be at the wrong end of the continent or world. It has always been my fondest dream to attend one. Now, I do not relish the long flight to get to the events, though Athens has definite appeal for me. Anyone else?

GOLD MEDAL FOR THE GREEK GYMNASTICS TEAM The Greek national gymnastics team won two medals, gold and bronze, on the last day of the 25th Gymnastics World Championship that was held in New Orleans, in the United States. The program with the three ropes and the two balls performed by the Greek women team was almost flawless and gathered a total of 24.450 points. Bulgaria came second with 23.600 points and Belarus third with 23.500 points. The Greek national gymnastics team also won the bronze medal in the final with the five ribbons in which it got 22.650 points. Ukraine came first with 23.325 points and Russia was second with 22.950 points.

Pre-Olympic sailing event to be held this month (ANA) An Athens 2004 pre-Olympic sailing regatta will be held from Aug. 16-23 off the Aghios Kosmas coastal district in southeast Athens. The event is designed to allow athletes to be familiarized with the maritime and weather conditions at the specific sailing venue. The regatta is the first of two sailing test events. The first pre-Olympic regatta will be held at temporary facilities of Aghios Kosmas, while a new Olympic Sailing Center is under construction and is expected to be ready for a second test event in August 2003. The Athens 2004 organizing committee (ATHOC) has promised to conduct a series of test events based -- as closely as possible -- on a real event environment. Although only one test event is scheduled for each competition at each Olympic facility, sailing is the only sport for which two pre-Olympic events have been scheduled. http://www.goGreece.com/news/headlines/story.html?id=7203

OSE announces sponsorships for three athletes (ANA) The Hellenic Railway Organization's (OSE) administration announced sponsorships for three athletes at a ceremony held at the transport ministry's amphitheatre on Thursday. The athletes awarded the sponsorships are the sprinters Aristotelis Gavelas and Vassilis Sengos and marathon runner Theodoros Zachos. The athletes' sponsorship has a two-year duration and is aimed at improving and facilitating their preparation conditions during the crucial period before the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. http://www.goGreece.com/news/headlines/story.html?id=7202

Olympic test events start with sailing Two years before the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympics, on August 13, 2004, the sailing regatta that begins today in Athens signals the transition of the Games� organization from the planning to the operational phase. The regatta, which starts today at noon and will last until next Thursday, is the first Olympic test event. Test events must take place in all sports at least a year before the Games; organizers and contractors are racing against the clock to complete venues. �It is an opportunity for Athens 2004 staff to obtain a hands-on experience to work as a team, to learn in practice, to implement and test our organizational and operational plans,� Marton Simitsek, executive director of the organizing committee, Athens 2004, told Reuters. Even though facilities at the sailing center in Aghios Cosmas are temporary, athletes said they were �enthusiastic� about their quality, Athens 2004 announced yesterday. �All facilities and services are of a very high level,� Argentinean Carlos Espinola, a silver medalist in the Mistral (windsurfing) class at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was quoted as saying. A total of 507 athletes, from 40 countries, will take part in the regatta, in 327 boats. All Olympic classes are represented, except the Star Class; there were very few entries for this class, because the World Championships are taking place simultaneously in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, an International Olympic Committee spokeswoman endorsed Athens�s efforts. �Momentum is very much gathering pace,� the IOC�s Giselle Davis told Reuters. (Combined reports) http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100008_16/08/2002_19849

They started a couple of days ago. And the US has a swimmer chasing 7 medals. It's on at least 4 cable networks, so it will be hard to keep up. Right now I'm watching the USA softball team in the 2nd inning with a 2-0 lead over the Aussies. Women's bicycing is on the USA network at the same time.

August 27th will be a big day in the Women's Pentathalon, my favorite event so far. It's on four networks, NBC, CNBC, USA, and Bravo. Maybe on MSNBC too. Softball's on now. Live. And it's 3:25 am. Viewing all this is a Herculean task. If I had the money, I could hire several assistants to watch it for me and report back to me. NBC's been flogging the fact that this Olympics has 1,210 hours covering all 28 Olympic sports. That's about what all four of my tivos can record. But that would take 150 days watching tv 8 hours a day.

I like getting to see sports that I never get to see otherwise, like the trampoline, ping pong, badminton, and the women's pentathalon. And it is amazing to see the NBA team lose to Puerto Rico and Lithuania, unheard of just a few years ago. The world is catching up to the NBA. The BBC is running 5 video channels over the net butg their only available to UK based broadband subscribers. But there's already too much to watch on Tivo. In a half hour, Team USA vs. Australia.

Tremor felt in Greek capital during Olympics (08-24) 07:22 PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) A small earthquake rattled some Olympic venues Tuesday. There were no reports of injuries or damage. The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.5 and occurred at 3:38 p.m. local time. It was centered about 42 miles northeast of Athens, 12 miles beneath the Aegean Sea. "There is no reason to panic. It was a very small quake," said Giorgos Stavrakakis, a seismologist with the Geodynamic Institute. The press table shook at the baseball venue at the Helliniko Complex near the coastline. "Like somebody was pounding the keyboard too hard," one reporter said. Other said they didn't notice anything. Venues including the Olympic Village and the 9,000-seat Ano Liossia Olympic Hall for wrestling and judo were built near the fault line and designed to withstand a potentially massive quake. International Olympic Committee took the unprecedented step of buying insurance in case the games were called off due to terrorism or natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Earthquakes are common in Greece, one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. In 1999, a 5.9-magnitude quake near Athens killed 143 people, injured about 2,000 and left thousands more homeless. An earthquake also hit Nagano, Japan, during the 1998 Winter Games, jolting athletes and spectators but causing no major damage. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/08/24/sports1004EDT0340.DTL

I'm watching one of my favorite events, women's beach volleyball. USA is going for a bronze in this game against the Aussie women.

I'm watching boxing. Turkey 30, Italy 23 in the 4th round. How was the beach volleyball match?

Great match. USA downed the Aussies in a hotly contested match for the bronze.