VIEWER'S GUIDE
1996
JULY 19--AUGUST 4
ARCHERY
South Koreans won both the men's and women's events at Barcelona, and they're aiming for the same in Atlanta. The U.S. men--Butch Johnson, Justin Huish and Rod White--may contend for a team medal.
ATHLETICS (TRACK & FIELD)
SPRINTS The shifting demographics of elite track and field--from "amateurs" to career professionals--have placed an unusually large number of aging veterans among the favorites. Top contenders in the men's 100 meters include Americans Carl Lewis, 35, and Dennis Mitchell, 30, as well as Britain's reigning Olympic champion Linford Christie, 36. Their younger challengers are Canada's Donovan Bailey, 28, the current world champion; Obadele Thompson, 20, of Barbados; and Ato Boldon, 22, of Trinidad.
In the women's 100, there seem to be no youngsters to threaten the four veterans who have dominated the event for four years: Gwen Torrence, 30, and Gail Devers, 29, of the U.S.; Russia's Barcelona bronze medalist Irina Privalova, 27; and Jamaica's defending Olympic champion Merlene Ottey, 36.
The men's 200 and 400 have been all but conceded to the U.S.'s Michael Johnson, 28, who won both events by large margins at last year's world championships, necessitating the rearrangement of the Olympic schedule to accommodate his try at the unprecedented double.
MIDDLE AND LONG DISTANCES Above 400 meters, Africans take over. Maria Mutola of Mozambique is expected to dominate the women's 800, and possibly the 1,500, where she'll face defending champion Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria. Boulmerka's countryman and fellow 1,500 runner, Noureddine Morceli, may be the firmest favorite in any track event, with the possible exception of Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie, world-record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000, or Kenya's Moses Kiptanui, who owns the six fastest marks in the steeplechase. The heat and humidity will open up the marathons, although Spain's world champion Martin Fiz is good in hot weather, and Uta Pippig of Germany proved her ability to withstand adversity when she won her third straight Boston Marathon despite severe cramps.
FIELD EVENTS, DECATHLON AND HEPTATHLON More old-timers. In the pole vault, Ukrainian Sergei Bubka, 32, has ranked No. 1 for 11 of the past 13 years, and should be able to beat back a challenge from youngster Okkert Brits of South Africa, 23, and Russia's 1992 Olympic champion Maksim Tarasov, 25. Cuban high jumper Javier Sotomayor, 28, the only man ever to clear 8 ft., is a solid favorite if his knee holds up; British triple jumper Jonathan Edwards, 30, is the first man to hop, skip and jump 60 ft.; and Czech javelin thrower Jan Zelezny, 30, had 21 of last year's 22 longest throws. Barring the kind of bad luck that kept him off the U.S. team for Barcelona, decathlete Dan O'Brien, who turns 30 the day before the opening ceremonies, will get his overdue gold. Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the U.S., if healthy, is clearly the favorite in the women's heptathlon, which she won in Seoul and Barcelona. She is a tad less dominant in the long jump, which she won in '88.
The sentimental highlight of the track-and-field program may be the men's long jump. If Carl Lewis makes the team and Cuba's formidable Ivan Pedroso isn't recovered from a recent operation, the grand old man of American track can collect his fourth straight long-jump gold medal, which would tie him with Al Oerter, who had four straight in the discus.
BADMINTON
In what's often billed as the world's fastest sport, Indonesians are usually the speediest. But America's Kevin Han knows something about quickness: he used to deliver takeout Chinese by bicycle in New York City.
BASEBALL
The U.S. is the favorite, even over Cuba, the gold-medal winner in Barcelona. For one thing, coach Skip Bertman's squad is largely intact from the team that beat Cuba in four straight exhibitions last year. For another, Cuba seems to have chosen players less for their ability than for their likelihood to defect. The U.S. stars could be starter Kris Benson and outfielder Mark Kotsay.
BASKETBALL
Whenever Shaquille O'Neal, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton and Co. play, it will look like the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals. There is no way that this N.B.A. All-Star team will lose a game or even a night's sleep. The battle for the silver will also feature N.B.A. stars: Vlade Divac of Yugoslavia, Arvydis Sabonis of Lithuania and Toni Kukoc of Croatia.
The U.S.A. Dream Girls--Teresa Edwards, Lisa Leslie et al.--looked unbeatable on their recent world tour, but they could be upset in this competitive field, perhaps by the physical Australians, or by the Chinese, who feature the Great Wall of 6-ft. 9-in. Zheng Hai Xia.
BOXING
The Cubans, led by nonpareil heavyweight Felix Savon, will probably be the big winners, but they'll have to contend with the former Eastern Bloc teams (Romania, Bulgaria and Russia) that took half the gold medals at the last world championships. Americans can look for big things from stylish light heavyweight Antonio Tarver.
CANOE/KAYAK
Americans David Hearn (canoe) and Scott Shipley (kayak) should be contenders. In the sprint, three-time Olympian Jim Terrell will be looking to break the domination of Hungary and win his first medal.
CYCLING
TRACK Led by double Olympic medalist Rebecca Twigg and four-time world champion Connie Paraskevin-Young, the U.S. women will win their share of races against strong cyclists from France and Italy. There could be a great sprint battle between Marty Nothstein of the U.S. and Curt Harnett of Canada.
ROAD The heat will be a major factor. Jeanne Golay of the U.S., Norway's Monika Valvik and defending champion Kathryn Watt of Australia are the top contenders. For the first time, professional cyclists like five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain of Spain are eligible. Lance Armstrong of the U.S., a former world champion, could find the streets of Buckhead, Georgia, to his liking.
MOUNTAIN BIKING A new event for 1996. Bart Brentjens of the Netherlands and Alison Sydor of Canada are world champions.
DIVING
Chinese divers Sun Shuwei and Fu Mingxia are poised to repeat their 1992 victories in men's and women's platform, respectively; Fu is favored in springboard as well. Mark Lenzi of the U.S., the springboard winner in Barcelona, ended a 20-month retirement to defend his title.
EQUESTRIAN
The biggest story might turn out to be neither a horse nor a rider but a tick-transmitted equine blood disease called piroplasmosis. Despite objections from Georgia officials, more than a dozen foreign horses that have tested positive for the disease will enter the U.S. for the Games. Americans to watch: husband and wife David and Karen O'Connor in the three-day event, Michael Matz in jumping and Michelle Gibson in dressage.
FENCING
While it lacks the experience of its Italian, Russian or Romanian counterparts, the U.S. women's foil team is ranked No. 3 in the world. Peter Westbrook, a four-time Olympian, could repeat his 1984 medal-winning performance in sabre.
FOOTBALL (SOCCER)
The U.S. men are facing a tough draw--their first game is against Argentina, one of the favorites. The women, led by Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm, are out to avenge a tough loss to world champion Norway in 1995.
GYMNASTICS
ARTISTIC Vitali Scherbo of Belarus won six golds in Barcelona and will be a presence in Atlanta. For the women, Ukraine's world champion Lilia Podkopayeva, Russia's Svetlana Chorkina and America's Dominique Moceanu will try to outdo one another for all-around honors.
RHYTHMIC The ones to beat are Maria Petrova of Bulgaria and Ekaterina Serebrianskaya of Ukraine.
HANDBALL
Once again, the U.S. will pose the question, Why aren't American teams better at this distant cousin to basketball?
HOCKEY
In the men's division, Pakistan, Australia and Germany will be the teams to beat. The U.S. men are there only because they're, well, there. The American women, on the other hand, should challenge 1994 World Cup champion Australia.
JUDO
The Japanese and Koreans will be strong--no surprise there. But judoka (competitors) from France, Hungary and Spain could win some matches.
MODERN PENTATHLON
In an effort to make the event more exciting, the five events--shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian and running--will be held in a single day instead of spread out over four. American Michael Gostigian, a two-time Olympian, is improving.
ROWING
The U.S. women's Eight should be No. 1 in Gainesville, Georgia. Canadian heroine Silken Laumann, who won the bronze in Barcelona only weeks after a terrible rowing accident, is back in the single sculls.
SHOOTING
There are 15 events divided among four disciplines, and shooters from Germany, Eastern Europe and China will win many of them. But keep an eye out for Americans Roger Mar, John McNally and Connie Petracek in pistol, Nancy Napolski in rifle and Kim Rhode in shotgun.
SOFTBALL
It's not just for picnics anymore. Women's softball makes its Olympic debut. Led by shortstop/surgeon Dot Richardson, the U.S. women are the class of the field, though China inflicted a rare 1-0 defeat on them last summer.
SWIMMING
WOMEN In some races there are clear favorites, such as China's Le Jingyi in the 50- and 100-m free and Germany's Franziska van Almsick in the 200 and 400 free. But other races will be more wide open. In the 100- and 200-m breaststroke, for example, Penny Heyns of South Africa, Samantha Riley of Australia and 14-year-old Amanda Beard of the U.S. all could win. Four-time Olympic champ Janet Evans may medal in both the 400 and 800, though she faces challenges from teammates Cristina Teuscher in the 400 and Brooke Bennett in the 800.
MEN Australia has Kieren Perkins (1,500-m free) and Daniel Kowalski (200-, 400- and 1,500-m free). Russia has Barcelona star Aleksandr Popov, who's looking to repeat his 50- and 100-m double. But most eyes in Atlanta will be upon the Americans: Gary Hall Jr., son of three-time Olympic medalist Gary Sr., in the 50-m free; Tom Dolan in the 400-m free and 400-m individual medley relay; and Tripp Schwenk in the 100- and 200-m backstroke.
SYNCHRONIZED The solo and duet events, held since 1984, have been dropped in favor of a team event for women. Canadians or Americans finished one-two in all previous competitions, and that won't change.
TABLE TENNIS
No, Forrest Gump is not representing the U.S. The world's most popular racquet sport (40 million people played in tournaments last year) still belongs to the Chinese when it comes to the Olympics.
TENNIS
Do the names Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf ring a bell?
VOLLEYBALL
The American women, led by Tara Cross-Battle, just might win their first gold against the usually dominant Cubans and Brazilians. The U.S. men, led by Bob Ctvrtlik, will face challenges from Italy, Brazil and the Netherlands.
BEACH Nancy Reno and Holly McPeak, the powerful U.S. duo who break up with each other almost as often as they win tournaments, are on their way to gold unless the Brazilians stop them. Sinjin Smith, the granddaddy of the beach at 39, will try for a medal with his partner, Carl Henkel.
WATER POLO
The U.S. is fourth in the world, behind Hungary, Italy and Russia. But in 6-ft. 7-in. Chris Humbert, the Americans have one of the best players in the sport. The home crowd could make a big difference.
WEIGHT LIFTING
At 412 lbs., American Mark Henry might be the heaviest man at the Games. He is looking to improve his 10th-place finish of 1992. In the 141-lb. category, Turkey's Naim Suleymanoglu, the Pocket Hercules, seeks his third straight gold medal.
WRESTLING
Super heavyweight Bruce Baumgartner of the U.S. is ready to join a select group of Americans who have won medals in four Olympics.
YACHTING
In Savannah, Mark Reynolds, Hal Haenel, Courtney Becker-Dey and Lanee Butler lead an American contingent that hopes to continue the success of Barcelona, where the U.S. won nine medals, more than any other team.