Dutch swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband retained his Olympic 100m freestyle crown on Wednesday as two controversial Greek sprinters quit the Games and world records tumbled.
Kostadinos Kenteris, the 200m champion from the Sydney Olympics, and training partner Ekaterini Thanou, the 100m silver medallist four years ago, pulled out of the Olympics after emerging from an International Olympic Committee (IOC) hearing that could have expelled them for missing a mandatory drugs test.
Meanwhile, the athletics programme began with the men and women’s shot put taking place at the historic site of ancient Olympia.
Irina Korzhanenko, a Russian who was stripped of the 1999 world indoor title following a positive drug test, won the women’s title and the first athletics gold medal of the Athens Games.
As so often since the start of the action in Athens, all eyes were on the swimming pool.
Thorpe was trying to become the first man to complete a 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle treble at an Olympics but finished with only a bronze medal after Van den Hoogenband chased down South Africa’s Roland Schoeman for victory in 48,17 seconds.
”I was closing — it was like I was in a trance,” Van den Hoogenband said. ”When I touched the wall and looked back I saw it was mine. I was so happy.”
Schoeman took silver in a time of 48,23 seconds and Thorpe’s bronze was little consolation for the defeat to his eternal rivals.
”I guess I have the set,” said the Australian, who added the bronze to his 200m free gold and 4x200m free silver.
”I didn’t think that that was going to happen,” he added. ”But I’m really pleased with the way I swam.”
A world record that dated back to the Cold War was smashed by the United States 4x200m freestyle relay quartet of Natalie Coughlin, Carly Piper, Dana Vollmer and Kaitlin Sandeno.
The time of seven minutes and 53,42 seconds sliced more than two seconds off the previous record of 7:55,47 set by East Germany in 1987.
The 17-year-old mark was the oldest swimming world record, and it was also the last to go of the records set by the once-dominant East German women, whose success was sullied by revelations of state-sponsored doping.
In the simple setting of Olympia, Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine won the closest men’s shot put in Olympics history.
Trailing Adam Nelson of the US by 1cm going into the last round, Bilonog produced a throw of 21,16m to equal Nelson’s best.
When Nelson fouled on his final attempt, it gave Bilonog the Olympic title by virtue of a better second effort.
”Adam is really a fighter and we competed well,” the Ukrainian said.
”I really enjoyed the venue but I just did not perform,” said Nelson.
The women’s shot was more clear-cut — Korzhanenko was the only competitor to exceed 20m.
In the gymnastics, Paul Hamm of the US recovered from a shocking stumble to capture the all-around men’s gold medal with a stunning final routine.
South Korea’s Kim Dae-Eun, just 19, took the silver while compatriot Yang Tae Young was third.
Portugal’s star-studded team were dumped out the football tournament by little Costa Rica who grabbed a place in the last eight with a 4-2 win.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s fairy-tale return to the tournament suffered its first setback when they were beaten 2-1 by Morocco, but they are already guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals where they will face Australia.
The departure of Kenteris and Thanou ended a six-day saga that has embarrassed the host nation. A missed drugs test followed by a mysterious motorcycle accident culminated in Greece’s two biggest tracks stars turning in their Olympic accreditation.
”These people are stars, heroes and icons in their country and they cannot take part in the Olympic Games being held in their home country,” said IOC official Francois Carrard after a disciplinary hearing with the athletes.
The International Association of Athletics Federations will decide whether the duo should be banned for evading drugs testers.
Back at the sports, Tyler Hamilton of the US clinched the gold medal in the men’s individual time trial, an event that was missing Britain’s David Millar who is serving a two-year ban for drug-taking.
There were also judo golds for Georgia’s Zurab Zviadauri in the men’s under-90kg middleweight final and Japan’s Masae Ueno in the women’s under-70kg final.
Park Sung-Hyun of South Korea won the women’s archery gold medal beating compatriot Lee Sung-Jin 110-108 in the final.
Germany took the team three-day eventing gold but could face a protest from second-placed France. — Sapa-AFP
Special Report: Olympics 2004