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Athens viewers guide
Coming full circle
As the Games return to Athens, U.S. decathlete Tom Pappas journeys to his family's homeland to chase his dream.
Florida connections
A look at athletes with ties to Florida.
Going for it all
Michael Phelps' bold quest for seven - or eight - gold medals is the buzz of this year's Olympics.
Olympics: A through Z
ATHENS: We begin with a history lesson:
Ancient games
Boxing
"One day the ploughshare came away from the plough and his father observed Glaukos hammering it back with his bare fist. Impressed by his son's great strength, the old man decided to take him to the next Olympic Games." -- Pausanias, Description of Greece, second century A.D.
Equestrian
"The clatter of the rattling chariots filled the whole arena, and the dust flew up as they sped along in a dense mass, each driver goading his team unmercifully in his efforts to draw clear of the rival axles and panting steeds." -- Sophocles, Electra, 5th century B.C.
Ancient Games
Marathon
ANCIENT ORIGINS
Ancient games
Pankration
"The pankratiasts, my boy, practice a dangerous brand of wrestling. They have to endure black eyes ... and learn holds by which one who has fallen can still win, and they must be skillful in various ways of strangulation. They bend ankles and twist arms and throw punches and jump on their opponents." - Philostratos, On Gymnastics, second to third century A.D.
Ancient Games
Pentathlon
"The most perfect sportsman, therefore, are the pentathletes because in their bodies strength and speed are combined in beautiful harmony." - Aristotle, Rhetoric, fourth century B.C.
The history
"As in daytime there is no star in the sky warmer and brighter than the sun, likewise there is no competition greater than the Olympic Games." - Pindar, Greek lyric poet, 5th century BC
Ancient games
Running
"The good runner thinks only of what is in front of him and, stretching his mind toward the finish line and putting his hope of victory in his feet, does not plot against the fellow next to him or even consider his competitors." - Lucian, author and philosopher, 170 A.D.
Wrestling
"For he used to grip his antagonist by the fingers and bend them, and would not let go until he saw that his opponents had given in."- Pausanias, Description of Greece, second century A.D., about the tactics of three-time Olympic champion Leontiskos.
Baseball
U.S. strikes out pre-Games
The qualifying format is unfair.
Beach volleyball
Success breeds duo's confidence
Misty May and Kerry Walsh have more to worry about than entering the Olympics as the best women's beach volleyball team in the world.
Boxing
Boxer wants to make most of his second opportunity
Ron Siler, a 112-pounder, is a rare breed - a fighter who sticks around for his chance at the Olympics.
Diving
Wilkinson feels no pressure
Laura Wilkinson was one of the surprises of the Sydney Olympics, roaring from eighth place to first in the finals of the 10-meter platform and snatching gold from the favored Li Na of China - all while diving with a heavily wrapped broken foot.
Men's basketball
Young guns get a shot
Forget the Dream Team.
Men's gymnastics
China has most-favored status
When the United States announced its Olympic roster in July, USA gymnastics said on its Web site the Americans had "laid down its challenge to China."
P. Hamm wants more this time
Make no mistake, Paul Hamm was thrilled to qualify for the Olympics. But he wasn't overwhelmed.
Men's soccer
Argentina becomes favorite by default
Reigning Olympic champion Cameroon is out. So are silver and bronze medalists Spain and Chile.
Men's swimming
'Thorpedo' could sink opponents
Michael Phelps may be within reach of superstardom in the United States, but even a fistful of gold medals is unlikely to earn him, say, a contract to launch his own line of underwear.
Crocker plans to stop Phelps' run for the gold
No one expects the rest of the world to make it easy on Michael Phelps to win seven or more golds in Athens, but his fellow Americans have no plans to give him a free pass either.
Men's track
El Guerrouj may go the distance
Distance running is often too large a blanket thrown over a group of Olympic events, but Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj is attempting to win a nearly unprecedented combo of golds in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters that would make him, indisputably, the world's greatest distance runner.
In 100, it's as easy as 1-2-3
Nothing quite anoints the World's Fastest Man crown like Olympic gold, and while Maurice Greene has his eyes set on that, he aspires to more in Athens. The reigning gold medalist, who turned 30 on July 23, respects his younger competition from the U.S. Trials enough that he wants a red-white-and-blue sweep on the podium in Athens.
Men's volleyball
Setter drives U.S. U-turn
The last time the U.S. men's volleyball team medaled, Donald Suxho was an Albanian citizen playing in his hometown of Korce.
Other sports
Archery
ABOUT THE SPORT: First introduced to the Olympics in 1900, individual archery was on hiatus from 1920 to 1972 because there was no governing set of rules.
Badminton
HISTORY LESSON: The sport originally was called Poona in India before a net was added and the game took its current name in the 1870s in England. The United States actually had some of the best players in the world during the 1950s and '60s, including Judy Devlin Hashman, who won 50 major championships 1954-67.
Canoe
ABOUT THE SPORT: Sprint (flatwater) is a competition of speed, strength and endurance on calm water. There are 12 Olympic sprint events (nine for men, three for women) and four in slalom (three men, one women). In slalom (whitewater) athletes paddle the series of upstream and downstream 18 to 25 gates as quickly as possible without being penalized for touching poles or missing gates. A canoe paddler kneels while kayakers paddle in sitting position.
Equestrian (Dressage, show jumping, eventing)
ABOUT THE SPORT: Equestrian is unique because horse and rider are considered a team and both are named medal winners. Men and women compete as equals.
Fencing
ABOUT THE SPORT: The three weapon classes - foil, epee and sabre - are as different as their names. The foil (3 feet, 6 inches, 1.1 pounds) has a lightweight flexible blade with quick movements, while the epee (3-7, 1.7 pounds) is a more traditional fighting sword. The sabre (3-foot-5.3, a few ounces less than the foil) is characterized by slashing, thrusting motions and is known as a cutting weapon. Because of the different skills involved with each weapon, Olympic-level fencers generally choose to compete in one specialty.
Field hockey
ABOUT THE SPORT: Applies the basic rules of ice hockey only played on a football-sized field. International games are played on artificial turf. Backhand shots or passes are disallowed as players must hit a hard plastic ball only with the flat (front) side of a wooden or composite stick. Each team fields 11 players with the goal being to outscore an opponent. Nets are 12 by 7 feet. One of the world's oldest team sports, the game's origins date more than 4,000 years ago in Egypt.
Handball
ABOUT THE SPORT: This is not your father's handball, the kind played one-on-one against a wall. This is a seven-on-seven game that is a combination of basketball, water polo and ice hockey and is contested on a field similar to indoor soccer. It requires skills such as running, throwing and jumping. Like basketball, players dribble, shoot and pass the ball with their hands and play on a small hardwood court. The ball is similar to a small soccer ball, and players score by throwing it past a goalie.
Judo
ABOUT THE SPORT: Combine the grappling style of wrestling with the mind games of martial arts, and you've got an idea what judo is.
Modern pentathlon
Perhaps no sport tests an athlete's endurance and versatility like modern pentathlon, which combines five unrelated disciplines - shooting, fencing, swimming, showjumping and cross country - over a 12-hour period.
Cycling
ABOUT THE SPORT: Olympic cycling consists of three disciplines - road racing, track and mountain bike - that require different venues.
Synchronized swimming
ABOUT THE SPORT: Evolved from the elegant water ballet of the early 1900s and popularized by 1940s underwater actor and athlete Esther Williams, synchronized swimming is one of the more showy, captivating sports.
Table tennis
ABOUT THE SPORT: More than 40-million people play table tennis worldwide, a number supporters say makes it the world's largest participation sport. Thought to have been started in England in the late 1800s, table tennis was introduced to the Olympics in 1988 at Seoul. China has proven why table tennis is its national sport, winning more medals than any other country. In 1996 and 2000, the Chinese won 16 of 24 medals. In the Olympics there are singles and doubles competitions. Matches are best-of-five games. A game is won by the first player to reach 11 points and lead by two.
Tae Kwon Do
ABOUT THE SPORT: There is much debate about the origin of Tae kwon do, primarily because the sport is difficult to define.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
ABOUT THE SPORT: Performed exclusively by women, rhythmic gymnastics combines gymnastics and dance. Gymnasts perform choreographed movements with musical accompaniment using hand apparatus such as: rope, hoop, ball, clubs and a ribbon.
Rowing
ABOUT THE SPORT: There are 14 events in rowing: eight for men and six for women. Rowers compete in bouyed lanes on a 2,000-meter course with scullers using two oars and sweep rowers using one.
Shooting
ABOUT THE SPORT: An Olympic sport since 1896, shooting is comprised of 17 events spread among four disciplines - air rifle, shotgun, running target and pistol. There are 10 events for men and seven for women.
Outdoors
Lessons learned land local on team
There is a lot that takes place on the water in one-on-one sailing. The waves and wind constantly change the playing field, forcing sailors to use clever tactics and maneuvering to outsmart the field.
Softball
Finch so much more than a pretty face
Prospecting for potential "Golden Girls" in Athens? Keep an eye on U.S. pitcher Jennie Finch.
Swimming
Australian eyes on record-setting teen
World records are made to be broken - just not in the semifinals. But that's when 19-year-old Lisbeth Lenton had the swim of her life, heard the roar of the crowd and looked up at the scoreboard to see she had swum the fastest women's 100-meter freestyle in history.
Her cooler head prevails
If it weren't for a 103-degree fever during last year's world championships in Barcelona, Natalie Coughlin might be nearly as well known - and under as much pressure - as Michael Phelps.
Tennis
Roddick: As good as gold?
Andy Roddick wants this one.
Triathlon
Lindquist's second athletic life might be better than her first
Barb Lindquist has it pretty good. Three-days-a-week swimming schedules sound like the game plan of a recreational triathlete, not the world's No.1.
Waterpolo
USA's chance is now
As you read this, there's a good chance Tony Azevedo and his buddies are neck-deep in water. Well, either there or lifting weights. To train for Olympic water polo, Azevedo, perhaps the best player in the world, and his American teammates spend as much as six hours a day in the water and another couple in the training room.
Weightlifting
Haworth feels added weight of expectation
For her entire adult life, not to mention most of her teenage years, Cheryl Haworth has been the face of American weightlifting.
Women's basketball
An extended stay at top of world
While the U.S. men's oncourt aura of invincibility has taken a few hits in recent years, the women have not diminished their No.1 world ranking.
Women's gymnastics
Healthy Kupets back on top
This trip to the Olympics is no small feat.
Russian is looking for her golden opportunity
Really, there is no debate.
Women's soccer
Americans have something old, something new
Mia Hamm has been the face of women's soccer, in the United States and the world, for nearly two decades.
Women's track
France's Arron trying to find place in history
The first two names on the list of the fastest 100-meter times in women's track history are no surprise: Florence Griffith-Joyner and Marion Jones, two Olympic legends.
Winning combination
For a mix of youth and longevity, it's hard to top the U.S. women's team, which boasts a pair of five-time Olympians in Gail Devers and Jearl Miles-Clark, along with sprinter Allyson Felix, who was 2 when her teammates made their Olympic debut.
Wrestling
Gardner battles through injuries to defend gold
Rulon Garnder, the crew-cut, chubby-cheeked farm boy from Afton, Wy., stunned the world by beating the legendary Aleksander Karelin of Russia to win gold in the heavyweight class of Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Olympics.
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