Many Olympic stars came as favorites to the Games and fulfilled expectations, such as Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz or Florence Griffith-Joyner. Others, like Peter Snell, Al Oerter or Abebe Bikila, rose from anonymity to earn themselves legendary status. Today parity and depth rule international sports. Predictions of Olympic stars are at best speculative, but it would probably be difficult to select a single star even at the Game's conclusion. Selection of a star is ultimately a personal choice. Some of our personal choices for Atlanta are Ethiopian long distance ace Heile Gabreselasie, Australian swimmer Kieren Perkins, and U.S. teenage gymnastics sensation Dominique Moceanu. Some veteran old favorites include British sprinter Linford Christie, Gymnast Vitaly Shcherco, now competing for his native Byelorussia, American sprinter Michael Johnson and his compatriot, women's heptathalon champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
By the way, who do you think will be the star in Atlanta come July? If you have your choice, come on and tell us about it.


If the centenary games are a tribute to a single man's vision and determination, that man is French Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The movement he founded in 1894 survived early skepticism, two world wars, a great depression, and the cold war. He might not have envisioned the role of commercialism or the professionalization of sport but the essence of his vision remains. Sports as a means of bringing nations and peoples together, is a theme beating stronger than ever.