On Day Seven At Sydney 2000
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday August 20, 2004
? On the first day of athletics competition, Cathy Freeman cruises through her heat of the 400 metres. Her time is not the fastest but she clearly has plenty in reserve. Her main rival, Marie-Jose Perec, completes an amazing runner, flying to Paris where she tells the hostile French media, which accuse her of being afraid of Freeman, that she "cracked under pressure from the Australian press".
? IAAF doping chief Arne Ljungqvist accused United States officials of covering up drug cases among its athletes. ? Anthony Ervin and Gary Hall jnr of the US produce the first shared gold in Olympic men's swimming history when they touch together in 21.98s in the 50m freestyle final. ? Sweden's Lars Froelander denies gold to Michael Klim and Geoff Huegill in the 100m butterfly. ? Led by Andreea Raducan, Romania sweeps the medals in the women's all-round individual gymnastics. ? Bulgaria stripped of two more weightlifting medals and is banned from international competition for a year after more positive drug tests. "I think I built up more sweat warming up." Australia's Robert Ball, after Abdullo Tangriev of Uzbekistan needed only six seconds to win their judo contest.
© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald