The Olympics return to their ancient roots a century after rebirth when the 28th Summer Games begin in Athens on Friday (early Saturday KST).
About 10,500 athletes and 5,500 officials from 202 countries will take part in the 17-day games, which will stand as an example of the convergence of the old and the new.
The athletes will compete for glory in 28 sports at 35 venues around the Greek capital and in four other old cities.
The games have grown from their humble modern beginnings in Athens in 1896, when only 214 athletes from 14 countries competed in nine sports.
To Greeks, the Olympics are nothing less than their birthright.
The opening day of the ancient Greek games, which date back to 776 B.C., was a spectacular celebration of the vigor and competitiveness that inspired the creative spirit of one of antiquity's great civilizations.
People from every corner of the land swarmed the sacred grounds, where altars and columned temples stood in homage to their gods.
Greece has prepared to re-enact the exuberance and pageantry of the original Greek games at the second modern Olympics in Athens.
"Everything is ready. Greece is realizing a big, modern, peaceful games," Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia said last week.
On his recent arrival in Athens, Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, expressed satisfaction with what the Greek government has done to secure the games.
Whether all the Greek efforts will result in a successful Olympics ultimately depends on safety and security during the games, which come at a precarious time in a world facing increasing terror threats.
Greece has deployed 70,000 police officers and soldiers to protect the Olympics, plus an additional 35,000 military personnel to guard railroad stations, borders and other areas, mainly outside Athens. It has spent a record $1.5 billion to step up security measures.
In addition, a multinational force comprising agents from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Australia and Israel has been put in place against potential terror attacks.
South Korea is also concerned that terrorists may target their 376-member Olympic squad as the country is moving to send 3,000 additional troops to Iraq.
Seoul officials say they are asking Greece to upgrade the level of the terror risk faced by South Korean athletes from the current "medium" to "high" as given to the United States, Britain and Israel.
South Korean athletes, like those from other countries, will also have to overcome the sweltering temperatures in Athens in their quest for Olympic glory.
South Korea will field 267 athletes in 24 of the 28 sports with the aim of finishing in the top 10 in the medal standings by winning 13 golds.
The country retreated to 12th at the 2000 Sydney Games after ranking in the top 10 in the four previous Olympics in Los Angeles, Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta.
Reflecting their will to recapture a top-10 spot, a large board at the entrance of their training complex in Seoul reads: "Let's reward the people's support with the most medals ever."
The Olympic gold medal record for South Korea is 12, which was set in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and duplicated at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
A total of 301 golds are up for grabs in the 28 sports of the Athens Games, which are classified into 37 disciplines. A discipline is a branch of an Olympic sport comprising one or more events.
An Olympic sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries on three continents.
The Korean Olympic Committee officials expect the country to win one or more golds in archery, taekwondo, judo, shooting, wrestling, badminton, table tennis, gymnastics and fencing. They also hope for surprising results in other events.
The South Korean squad to Athens, led by Shin Bak-je, a businessman who has headed the Korea Hockey Association since 1998, is the fourth-largest team the country has sent to the Olympics.
Its youngest athlete is Park Tae-hwan, a 14-year-old middle school student, who will compete in the men's 400-meter freestyle swimming.
The oldest athlete representing South Korea is Kim Yeon-hee, 43, in women's skeet shooting.
Lee Bong-ju, 33, who is determined to win a marathon on the last day of the games, is the oldest among the male athletes.
Athletes from South and North Korea will march together behind a unification flag depicting the Korean Peninsula during the opening and closing ceremonies.
Ku Min-jung, 31, the South Korean women's volleyball team captain, has been chosen to carry the flag together with North Korea's Kim Sung-ho, a 50-year-old man and former basketball player.
It will be the fifth time the two Koreas have had their athletes march together in international sports events since their first joint march at the 2000 Sydney Games.
North Korea is sending a 69-member squad including 34 athletes to play in nine events with the aim of winning four golds. Its players won only one silver and three bronze medals in Sydney.
The United States, China and Russia are expected to vie for the top three spots in the medal race at the Athens Games.
The United States is sending the largest team of 531 athletes, aiming to continue its Olympic dominance for three consecutive games since 1996.
Russia wants to retake the top spot by winning more than 38 golds, while China hopes to retain third place with about 20 golds.
Germany and Australia are expected to challenge the top three sports powers.
Doping issues, which have marred past Olympics and other international sports events, may overshadow the Athens Games as well.
Four U.S. track athletes will not compete in Athens after testing positive for the designer steroid THG and sprinter Kelli White accepted a suspension even without a positive test for the drug.
Concerns have mounted particularly over blood doping, which can boost athletes' performance, especially in endurance disciplines such as long-distance running, swimming and cycling. Substances and methods that artificially increase the number of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the muscles, are banned in the sports arena.
But IOC officials have expressed confidence cheats would be caught, saying testing would increase in Athens during the period of the games.
More than 50 Olympic competitors have been caught since a Swede became the first Olympic athlete to test positive for any sort of doping at the 1968 Mexico City Games.
Seven competitors were caught for using banned substances at the 2000 games.
* Ref : http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/08/12/200408120024.asp |
|
