With more than 10,000 athletes competing in 300 events, the Sydney Games will be the largest Olympics ever. Here’s how to follow all the action.
On television
NBC and its cable affiliates–CNBC and MSNBC–will provide more than 400 hours of taped coverage. A look at the daily highlights. (All are Central time)
Sept. 15
NBC–6:30 p.m.-11 p.m.: Opening Ceremonies
Sept. 16
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: women’s triathlon; swimming (men’s 400m freestyle)
Sept. 17
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: men’s triathlon; swimming (women’s 100m butterfly)
Sept. 18
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: swimming (men’s 200m freestyle)
Sept. 19
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: gymnastics (women’s team final)-
Sept. 20
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: swimming (men’s 100m freestyle)
Sept. 21
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: gymnastics (women’s individual all-around final); swimming (women’s 100m freestyle)
Sept. 22
MSNBC–9 a.m.-4 p.m.: weightlifting (women’s super-heavyweight)
Sept. 23
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: track and field (women’s 100m, men’s 100m)
Sept. 24
NBC–9 a.m.-5 p.m.: women’s marathon; gymnastics (men’s and women’s individual event finals)
Sept. 25
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: gymnastics (men’s and women’s individual event finals); track and field (men’s 400m, women’s pole vault)
Sept. 26
MSNBC–9 a.m.-4 p.m.: men’s beach volleyball final
Sept. 27
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: cycling (men’s road race); wrestling (Greco-Roman super-heavyweight final)
MSNBC–9 a.m.-4 p.m.: tennis (women’s singles final)
Sept. 28
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: track and field (women’s 200m)-MSNBC–9 a.m.-4 p.m.: soccer (women’s final); tennis (men’s singles final)
Sept. 29
NBC–6 p.m.-11 p.m.: track and field (women’s long jump, men’s 1500m)
Sept. 30
NBC–11 a.m.-5 p.m.: basketball (women’s final)
6 p.m.-11 p.m.: track and field (women’s 4 x 100m relay, men’s 4 x 100m relay, women’s 4 x 400m relay, men’s 4 x 400m relay); basketball (men’s final); cycling (men’s time trial)-
Oct. 1
NBC–10 a.m.-5 p.m.: boxing (heavyweight final)
6 p.m.-11 p.m.: men’s marathon; Closing Ceremonies
The Internet
For the latest results, go to http://chicagosports.com/sports/ international/. From there you can also send e-mail to three local athletes competing in Sydney.
Other sites worth a look: www.olympics.com, the official site of the Games; and
www.usoc.org, the official site of the United States Olympic Committee.
Events schedule
Athletes to watch
BOXING
Michael Bennett (USA)
Event: Heavyweight
Bennett, a Chicago native, took up boxing while in prison. Now he’s the team captain and a medal favorite.
Felix Savon (CUB)
Event: Heavyweight
Expect Savon and Bennett to meet in the finals. The Cuban fighter has won the gold medal the last two Games.
CYCLING
Lance Armstrong (USA)
Events: Road race, time trial
Armstrong will play a supporting role in the road race, but he’ll be the favorite to win gold in the time trial.
JUDO
Hillary Wolf (USA)
Event: 114.4 pounds
Chicagoan Wolf is trying to become the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo.
GYMNASTICS
Svetlana Khorkina (RUS)
Event: Uneven bars
The reigning Olympic champion on the uneven bars, Khorkina also has won the last four world titles.
ROWING
Steve Redgrave (GBR)
Event: Coxless fours
A victory in Sydney would make Redgrave, 38, the first athlete to win a gold medal in five straight Games.
SWIMMING
Ian Thorpe (AUS)
Events: 200m and 400m freestyle
The “Thorpedo,” Australia’s 17-year-old phenom, is in a class by himself. Everyone else is swimming for silver.
Jenny Thompson (USA)
Events: 50m and 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly
With five gold medals, Thompson is tied with Bonnie Blair for the most Olympic titles won by a U.S. woman.
Inge de Bruijn (NED)
Events: 50m and 100m freestyle,
100m butterfly
De Bruijn holds the world record in all three events, but Thompson and Amy Van Dyken will push her for the gold.
Pieter van den Hoogenband (NED)
Events: 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle
Van den Hoogenband beat legend Alexander Popov last year and looks poised to win his first Olympic medal.
TRACK AND FIELD
Marion Jones (USA)
Events: 100m, 200m, long jump, 4 x 100m, 4 x 400m
All eyes will be on Jones as she tries to become the first track athlete to win five gold medals at one Olympics. The long jump will be her toughest event.
Hicham El Guerrouj (MOR)
Event: 1,500m
In Atlanta, El Guerrouj fell on the final lap and finished 12th. Since then he’s smashed the world records in the 1,500 meters and mile.
Tegla Loroupe (KEN)
Events: Marathon, 5,000m, 10,000m
Loroupe holds the world record in the marathon; she’ll also be in the running for a medal in two other events.
Maurice Greene (USA)
Events: 100m, 4 x 100m
Though he won’t be running in the 200 meters, Greene still can capture the title of World’s Fastest Man.
WRESTLING
Aleksandr Karelin (RUS)
Event: Greco-Roman, super-heavyweight
Karelin has never lost an international match. A victory would give him a record fourth gold medal in the same weight class.
Kevin Bracken (USA)
Event: Greco-Roman, 139 pounds
Bracken, who grew up in Chicago, is wrestling at his first Olympics. He was an alternate on the 1996 team.
Making their debuts
TRIATHLON
Although the triathlon has been around only since 1974, it combines three disciplines that have been in the Olympics for more than 100 years.
The competition
Swim: .93-mile; cycle: 24.8 miles;
run: 6.2 miles.
Expected times
Women should finish in a little more than two hours; men, about 1 hour 50 minutes.
Teams
Countries limited to three competitors.
Favorites
Australians are the best in the world. The women could sweep the event; the men will also compete for gold.
TAE KWON DO
Tae kwon do was developed as a form of self-defense 2,000 years ago. But it wasn’t recognized as a martial arts discipline until the 1950s.
The competition
Points awarded for punching or kicking an opponent in the chest or head.
Matches
Three 3-minute rounds; in world-class competition, athletes usually score two to three points a round.
Safety
Participants wear protective gear and cannot use unnecessary force.
Favorites
South Korea dominates the sport.
Fourteen events have been added to existing sports.
Synchronized diving
Pairs of men and women compete in these diving events. In the 3-meter springboard, the competitors dive off adjacent boards; on the high dive, athletes jump off the same platform. Judges award points on individual technique and synchronization.
Trampoline
This is the newest discipline in gymnastics for men and women. Using a large trampoline, competitors perform a series of flips, twists and maneuvers, often soaring more than 25 feet in the air. The routines are judged on aesthetics and degree of difficulty.
Also
For men: Madison, Keirin and Olympic sprint races in cycling.
For women: Pole vault and hammer throw in track and field; 500-meter time trial in cycling; modern pentathlon; trap and skeet in shooting; duet competition in synchronized swimming; water polo; and weightlifting.
