The transition from conservative Zurich to easy-going Athens was great, the difference between Swiss chocolate and ouzo. The week leading up to the start of the Olympic Games, when nothing is happening on the sports front, is an ideal opportunity for journalists to dig up dirt and scout the lie of the land.
Special Report: Olympics 2004
They are falling like skittles in a bowling alley. One by one, the arguments for the 2003 invasion of Iraq keep tumbling. First to go was the big one. War was necessary because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Next was the insistent promise that a US-led conquest of Baghdad would end completely and for ever human rights abuses. The past week has sent one more Iraqi ninepin wobbling.
Having earned more than -million in prize money last year, Maria Mutola could buy herself almost any piece of jewellery she wanted — except the one she desires most: another Olympic 800m gold medal. ”The money last year was nice and kind of unexpected,” said Mozambique’s national heroine. ”But my biggest dream remains to do well in the Olympic Games.”
Stand at any border post in Southern Africa and watch who goes through it: women with heads and arms laden, people on bicycles and cars that have teetering piles of goods, mini-bus taxis with stacked roofs, dragging trailers. Previously disregarded, these informal vendors are increasingly seen as part of the solution to the region’s many economic problems.
Let’s start with some assertions, all of which can be supported. Everybody knows that quality jobs are better than social grants. We also know that fast, job-creating economic growth is required. The problem is, it is elusive and looks set to remain so. Social grants are the quickest way to alleviate chronic poverty, reckons Charles Meth.
Oil prices were nudging record levels on global markets this week after Iraqi insurgents threatened to blow up the country’s key southern oilfields if the Americans launched a full-scale onslaught on the holy city of Najaf. Dealers shrugged off an earlier move by Saudi Arabia to calm global energy markets after Wednesday’s frenetic trading that saw fresh concerns about terrorism.
By the end of this century, our official stance against drugs in sport will look risible.
Is it really so wrong for an athlete to use performance-enhancing substances? Sports academic Lincoln Allison argues that those who strive to be the best should do so by any means necessary.
It’s hard to think of a more cataclysmic start to the season than Chelsea versus Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. If Chelsea win on Sunday, everybody will be shouting about the way Roman Abramovich has bought the championship for £210-million. If Manchester United win, everybody will call for the head of Jose Mourinho.
Hurrah for the new Premiership season! Last season there were complaints that competition was actually quite dull, but when you see what passes for football news when no matches are taking place, the heart fairly leaps at the prospect of Bolton vs Charlton or Portsmouth vs Birmingham.
Two of the Athens Olympic Games’s most high-profile stars planned to miss Friday’s opening ceremony, along with hundreds of other athletes content to shun a lifetime memory to ensure they won’t compromise their Olympic performance. Tens of millions were expected to watch the ceremony on television around the world.
Special Report: Olympics 2004