2004 Olympics: Other Sports

12:58 PM CDT on Sunday, August 29, 2004

By CATHY HARASTA / The Dallas Morning News

ATHENS, Greece – Overall, Athens answered the bell.

Not so for gymnastics judges or the relatively small number of Olympic athletes caught breaking doping rules at the "Homecoming" of the Games to their 1896 revival site.

But most who experienced the Athens Olympics, which end today, pronounced the better-late-than-never showcase a success for its security planning, faithfulness to aspects of the Games' Greek roots, and the event's surprising efficiency.

The tardy bell, however, cost the organizers in more ways than one. Much-publicized construction delays drove overtime worker pay up and probably accounted for some potential Games goers' decisions not to risk attending.

"All in all, it's a huge success," said Dick Pound, an International Olympic Committee member from Canada and the World Anti-Doping Association president. "The delivery is far, far greater than anyone dared to hope or expect."

Still, doping-related issues dampened some of the host nation's enthusiasm. Two star sprinters from Greece withdrew from the Games after a strange sequence in which they were unable to be found for drug testing.

"There was a general displeasure and great disappointment," said Athens native and Games goer Alexander Kitroeff, a professor at Haverford College near Philadelphia and an author on Olympic topics. "But the Games went much better than I expected."

IOC figures entering Saturday showed nine positive drug tests and four doping-related rules irregularities after 2,597 IOC-administered tests during the Games, which drew more than 10,500 athletes.

A tally of 20 drug-related sanctions includes international sports federation tests not administered at the Games by the IOC, according to IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies.

Four medals have been withdrawn for doping violations, compared with six at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

"It's played out as a Games where the drug issue is being taken very seriously," Pound said. "You can't win a championship and expect to keep your title if you're on drugs. I think we're making some progress. A lot of nations did some of their weeding out at home."

Pound praised the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's efforts in aiding the BALCO steroid investigation that brought to light a San Francisco-area nutrition center's alleged role in banned performance-enhancing drug distribution.

As of Saturday afternoon, no U.S. athlete at the Games had a positive drug test.

Empty seats, particularly for events' early rounds, did not play well on TV, though the Games' viewership in the United States topped that of all Summer Olympics except those on U.S. soil. Athens organizers said they were pleased with the 3,568,174 tickets sold entering Saturday, though almost 2 million went unpurchased.

"Atlanta and Sydney did astonishingly aggressive marketing," Pound said. "People had the concern that Greece might not be ready, and would they get their ticket money back. You kind of sit on your wallet."

Team USA hit its medal target of 100 entering today's final events.

Carly Patterson of Allen broke a 20-year drought when she became the first U.S. woman since Mary Lou Retton to win the prestigious all-around gymnastics championship. Swimmer Michael Phelps of Baltimore led a U.S. charge in the pool, where world records fell and the dolphin kick's legality made a big splash.

But the USOC couldn't duck the Games' biggest competition-related controversy. After Paul Hamm became the first U.S. man to win an Olympic all-around gymnastics championship, a protest by South Korean officials eventually drew the USOC into the fray.

Some anti-American sentiments surfaced during the men's 200-meter race, swept by U.S. sprinters. Boos rang out at the stadium. Kostas Kenteris, the 2000 Olympic champion in that event, was not in the field. He and training partner Ekaterini Thanou were the Greek stars who withdrew before the track competition following doping authorities' inability to locate the pair for drug tests.

Silver medalist Bernard Williams said the booing wasn't a problem.

"That didn't disturb us," he said. "We got all three medals."

Secretary of State Colin Powell canceled plans to attend the closing ceremony after demonstrators on Friday tried to march to the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

The Games had escaped such anti-American protests until that point. The demonstration, billed as an anti-war statement, reportedly was not the reason for Powell's decision to cancel his visit.

"I'd say our athletes have enjoyed these Games immensely," said Herman Frazier, a two-time USOC vice president and Team USA's delegation head in Athens. "They've enjoyed the hospitality. These Games have been very successful for us."

Going in, security and banned drugs loomed as the major themes of history's most expensive Olympics. As the first Summer Games since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Athens Olympics faced staggering challenges as organizers marshaled a seven-nation task force and more than 70,000 personnel at a cost of $1.5 billion.

But perhaps because the Games were not sold out, spectators had few problems with security measures at venues. Without choking crowds, potential problems such as bottlenecks at metal-detection checkpoints or heavy motor vehicle traffic did not cause undue frustration.

The Greek ministry of public order thanked Athens citizens for respecting special traffic lanes reserved for official Games vehicles.

But now comes the hard part. The debt could rise to $12 billion – a discouraging figure when one considers that Montreal still is paying for the 1976 Summer Olympics. The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Greek government borrowed $13 billion in the last three months.

A 33-member commission will study post-Olympic use of the Athens venues and their economics. Financing the Games surely will become a hot topic.

"I don't know anything that makes financial sense for 17 days," said Kevin Wamsley, a University of Western Ontario professor who specializes in Olympic economics.

But this was not all about money. On Aug. 18, the shot put event took place at Ancient Olympia, where the original Olympic Stadium, dating to 776 BC, again felt the power of athletes in action.

Michael Zacharatos, the Athens organizing committee's communications general manager, said the Games' value would be measured in many ways.

"It's been a unique opportunity for so many sports," he said. "There's going to be a tremendous new sporting legacy in Greece."

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