Olympics return to ancient birthplace

A soldier stands guard behind the Olympic Games Logo at the Schinias rowing and canoeing center, outside Athens. The Athens Summer Olympic Games open today. PHOTO: AFP

The Olympics return to their ancient birthplace today, safeguarded by the biggest security operation ever put together for a sporting event and overshadowed by doping concerns.

Some athletes from 202 countries will compete for a total of 301 gold medals in 28 sporting disciplines in Athens -- a gigantic undertaking compared to the first Olympics in 776BC which had just one event, and the 43 events from the first modern Games in 1896.

Some soldiers, police and security personnel are on hand while NATO is also involved in the US$1 billion operation to protect the first Summer Olympics since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.

Four-metre-high protect the Olympic Village, which is located close to the main Olympic venues -- both having received unanimous praise from athletes and officials in the final countdown.

"I think it is fantastic. From the 16 Games I have attended, it's the best one I have seen," said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Jacques Rogge, of the athletes village where he will also live.

A man on Wednesday walks past replicas of sculptures from the east pediment of the ancient Parthenon, decorating the Metro station of Acropolis in Athens. History runs deep in Greece, and as Athens rushed to expand its subway system in time for the Olympics, work has been repeatedly halted by the discovery of ruins and artifacts. Officials have managed to find a golden lining: Now some stations double as museums, with artifacts unearthed during construction displayed in glass cases where they were found. PHOTO: AP

Boosted the recent stunning football triumph of the Greek national team at Euro 2004, the organizing committee ATHOC won a race against time although there were no test events in several sports and not all venues were constructed according to original plans.

One the last venues to be completed in time for today's opening ceremony was the Olympic stadium itself with its spectacular arched roof designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

"Athens is ready. What we promised, we delivered. We are writing a new chapter in Olympic history and Greek history," said ATHOC president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.

IOC committee head Denis Oswald agreed. "It is a miracle, a real miracle, that Athens is ready on time after all."

Originally to cost US$4 billion overall, the figure has almost doubled with ATHOC's budget of US$1.96 billion supplemented by general Olympic costs of around US$6 billion.

Some even speak of the Games costing US$10 billion.

The legacy for Athens, however, is a huge improvement in the city's infrastructure similar to that in Munich 1972, Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992.

Summer Olympics have grown in size since those Games, but Rogge has managed to keep the figures stable compared to Sydney 2000.

The only increase is in the number of participating countries as Afghanistan returns and the Palestinian territories also have their own team.

Athletes war-torn Iraq are in Athens and the two Korean teams will march jointly at the opening ceremony as they did in Sydney -- a precursor to the joint Olympic Korean team planned for the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Women's and sabre fencing make their Olympic debut in the 301 medal events, only one more than the 300 from Sydney.

The Athens Games will see around 3,400 doping tests carried out by the IOC (and the World Anti Doping Agency), compared to 2,840 from Sydney.

Eleven were disqualified in Sydney and the US 4x400m relay team could yet lose their gold in the wake of the doping case surrounding sprinter Jerome Young.

By morning, three athletes had already tested positive and were kicked out of the Olympics: Kenyan boxer David Munyasia and Greek baseball players Andrew James Brack and Derek Nicholson.

Battered US athletics has been rocked by the case involving the designer drug THG and the BALCO laborary in California accused of supplying illicit substances to athletes.

Some like Kelli White have been banned while others involved, including 100m world record holder Tim Montgomery, failed to qualify.

The IOC may also conduct tests for forbidden human growth hormones at the first Games since the introduction of the World Anti Doping Code but hopes that sport and not doping will make the headlines.

American Michael Phelps could become the Games' superstar if he manages to match or better Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games.

Wonderboy Phelps will compete in up to eight races, including a mouth-watering 200m freestyle showdown with Australia's Ian Thorpe.

"I wouldn't say anything is impossible," said Phelps in Athens when asked about his face-off with Thorpe.

"Nothing is impossible and anything can happen."

Fellow-American Jenny Thompson could be the first Olympian to win 10 gold medals if she manages to improve on her eight so far from three games.

In athletics, the Americans are also hoping for gold from 2000 sprint champion Maurice Greene, Shawn Crawford or Justin Gatlin in the blue riband 100m race.

On the women's side Marion Jones will not win five medals like in Sydney as the athletics star is competing only in the long jump.

Other athletes in Athens include Moroccan 1,500m runner Hicham El Guerrouj, who is looking for gold after missing out in 1996 and 2000.

American NBA stars will hope to electrify the basketball-crazy Greeks, Russia's Svetlana Khorkina is aiming for gymnastics gold and German veteran Birgit Fischer is in her sixth Olympics in canoeing.

The US and Russia are expected to fight for first place in the medals table with 2008 hosts China also looking to do well.

The US led the way in Sydney with 40 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze ahead of Russia (32, 28, 28) and China (28, 16, 15).

The tally will not be known until the Games end on Aug. 29, but one thing is already certain now. Rogge will not name the Athens Games "the best ever" even if they are exceptional, as he plans to break with Juan Antonio Samaranch's tradition of comparing the Games.

Anyone performance-enhancing drugs was "playing a game of Russian roulette," Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, told a Belgian newspaper. The agency planned to run 3,000 to 3,500 doping tests during the Games.

Serena Williams, former world No. 1 and reigning Olympic doubles champion, withdrew complaining of a knee injury.

She joins a long list of high profile athletes missing because of doping scandals, poor form or fitness problems.