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By Compiled by Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 2, 2000
Better than ever
At his final Games, IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch gave Sydney the praise he denied Atlanta four years ago: "I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever," Samaranch said. He has applied that moniker to Games in the past, but after the over-the-top commercialism that marked the Atlanta Games, he called them simply "most exceptional."
With a sendoff that was schmaltzy, spectacular and as good-spirited as the rest of these Oi! Oi! Oi! Olympics, the lights went out on the Summer Games that set the bar remarkably high for future host cities. The ceremony included Australian rock groups, national icons such as golfer Greg Norman, actor Paul Hogan and scantily clad model Elle McPherson, and ended with Men At Work's Land Down Under and Waltzing Matilda, Australian anthems from far different eras. The conclusion triggered a thunderous chain-reaction of fireworks. The pyrotechnic display lit 10 miles of star-filled sky.
United States -- 39 -- 25 -- 33 -- 97
Russia -- 32 -- 28 -- 28 -- 88
China -- 28 -- 16 -- 15 -- 59
Australia -- 16 -- 25 -- 17 -- 58
Germany -- 14 -- 17 -- 26 -- 57