MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / October 7, 2000

After 16 days of competition, the Olympic flame was extinguished last Sunday night.

But it will be a long time before the memories and lessons that the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games brought will be extinguished.

Rulon Gardner, Misty Hyman and the U.S. baseball team showed that nomatter the reputation of an opponent, they can be overcome. Gardner, whogrew up on a farm in Wyoming, did what many thought was the un-doable, upsetting Russian Alexander Karelin. Karelin had not lost in 12 years and hadallowed one point in the last 10 years.

Hyman out-swam the home-town champion, Australia’s Susie O’Neill, in the 200-meter butterfly. Hyman’s reaction after realizing what she had donewas one of the highlights of the game.

The baseball team upset the heavily-favored Cuban team, one that had won the gold medal in the previous two Olympics. This was not a U.S. team madeup of millionaire ballplayers but one of potential future stars and past journeymen. As the American manager, Tommy Lasorda, pointed out, this winwas not for a city but for the country.

The Lithuania men’s basketball team nearly pulled off the biggest upset of these or any other Games against the United State’s Dream Team. Whilefalling just short, the Lithuanians showed how far heart and determination can take you. At the same time, the American team gave a lesson inovercoming adversity to achieve success.

So, too, did the American softball team. That team had not lost in 112games before losing three straight heartbreakers in the preliminaries. Butinstead of staying down, the team rallied to defeat the three teams it had lost to in the medal round to capture the gold, giving a lesson in perseverance.

Esther Kim and Kay Poe, American taekwondo competitors, gave us all a lesson in friendship. So, too, did American cyclist Lance Armstrong andRussian Viacheslav Ekimov.

American diver Laura Wilkinson showed that a potential weakness can be turned into a strength. Wilkinson, who broke her foot in three places inMarch, also showed how to overcome pain to achieve success.

Speaking of pain, perhaps no athlete at the Games overcame as much as Nigeria’s Gloria Alozie, the silver medalist in the 100-meter hurdles. Alozie’sfianc was killed when he was struck by a car just a week before the start of the Games.

Juan Antonio Samaranich, the president of the International Olympic Committee, overcame the loss of his wife shortly after the Opening Ceremonies. To oversee his final Olympics. Samaranich has often beencriticized during his term as president but few could have done a better job.

Eric “The Eel” Mossambani of Equatorial Guinea gave a lesson in competing even when there is no hope of winning.

Australian Ian Thorpe showed that youth is not an obstacle and showed both grace and heart. Michael Johnson showed that four years had not made adifference in winning the gold in the 400. Watching both compete was purejoy.

Marion Jones also showed grace in finishing with three golds and two bronzes.

In doing so, Jones proved that old saying – “If you shoot for the moon and fall short, you still fall among the stars.”And Cathy Freeman showed the pride of a race, first in lighting the torch during the Opening Ceremonies, then in winning the gold in the 400 meters.

Those were just some of the many memories that will come out of these Games. Sure they had their problems, particularly with drugs. But to callthem the “Drug Games” is an insult to all those who competed and won fairly.

It is to allow those who tried to cheat get the recognition and become the winners they tried to be unfairly. It is to diminish the work of all those whotried their best to make these Games so special.

The last lesson we should all take from these Games came from the people of Australia themselves. Australia gave us all a lesson in taking pride inourselves. The Aussies showed us there is nothing wrong with loving ourcountry and supporting its athletes. It’s a lesson we should all take into theWinter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002.

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