20B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY,AUGUST 16,2004
Olympic handball
The Associated Press
Spain's Alberto Enterriros, center, tries to score as Korea's Min-Kyung Yoon, left, tries to stop him during a Group A Olympic handball match at the Fairo Sports Pavilion in Athens on Saturday.
Terrorism changes climate of games
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
REDMOND. Wash. — The war on terrorism is transforming the complexion of the Olympic games in Athens with the rise of teams from Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush says.
Afghanistan was suspended from the International Olympic Committee in 1999 due to the Taliban ban on participation of women athletes.
Saddam Hussein put his son
Odai in charge of Iraq's Olympic committee, a step that allegedly led to torture of athletes who did not do well. Iraq is the only Olympic committee in the world with its own prison, a former U.S. diplomat has said of Saddam's regime.
"For the first time in history, people everywhere will see women competitors wearing the uniform of Afghanistan," the president said Saturday in his weekly radio address.
"For the first time in decades, the world will see Iraqi Olympians free from the brutal punishment of the dictator's son," Bush added.
Twenty-nine athletes from Iraq are competing in Athens, including the Iraqi soccer team, which thrilled the world by winning its first game, the president noted.
The country whose team Iraq defeated is Portugal, which has sent 120 police officers to Iraq.
friendly competition, all Olympians are sending the message that freedom and hope are more powerful than terror and despair," said the president.
"By coming together in
In his campaign speeches around the country in recent weeks, Bush has said how gratifying it was to see Afghan girls participating in this summer's international children's games in Cleveland. He made the same point about Afghan women's participation in the Olympics.
ATHENS, Greece — Michael Phelps grabbed his head in disbelief, then thrust his left fist in the air.
Seven medals left for Olympic swimmer to overtake legend
The Associated Press
The first one's out of the way.
He's an Olympic champion — just like Mark Spitz.
Phelps began his quest to overtake Spitz' 1972 record haul of seven gold medals with a dominating performance in the 400-meter individual medley, breaking his own world record Saturday night and claiming the first U.S. gold medal of the Athens Games.
Ian Thorpe won his second straight gold in the 400 freestyle — a race he got into only through the generosity of a teammate — but Jenny Thompson was denied her record-tying ninth gold medal when she gave up the lead to Australia on the final leg of the 400 freestyle relay.
Still, it was a good night for the powerful American team, which began eight days in the Olympic pool with a 1-2 finish.
Phelps touched the wall in 4 minutes, 8.26 seconds, while teammate Erik Vendt was more than 3 1/2 seconds behind but good enough for silver at 4:11.81.
"I'm a little bit less nervous," said Phelps, 19, of Baltimore. "I've got one off my shoulders and can relax a little bit."
It was a rousing start to the much-anticipated Olympic meet, but Phelps is just getting warmed up.
He will likely swim in eight events, giving him a chance to break Spitz's record at the Munich Games.
So far, Phelps is following the script of the greatest swimmer in Olympic history.
All seven of Spitz's wins were in record time.
Thorpe almost missed the 400
'm a little bit less nervous. I've got one off
my shoulders and can relax a little bit."
Michael Phelps
2004 U.S. Olympic swimmer
free — his best event — when he inexplicably fell off the starting block at the Australian trials, earning an automatic disqualification. But he got in when teammate Craig Stevens gave up his spot.
Thorpe barely held off another countryman, Grant Hackett, to win in 3:43.10. American Klete Keller took bronze for the second straight Olympics.
"I didn't realize how much this event meant to me," said Thorpe, who fought back tears after touching the wall. "I am more excited now that it is off my shoulders."
Thompson, 31, had a chance for her ninth gold when she dove into the water for the anchor leg with a lead of nearly four-tenths of a second.
But the greatest relay swimmer in U.S. history couldn't hold it. Jodie Henry passed Thompson after they made the final turn nearly in unison, touching the wall in 3:35.94 to break the world record of 3:36.00 set by Germany two years ago.
The winning team included Alice Mills, Lisbeth Benton and Petria Thomas, but it was Henry who did the bulk of the work. She swam nearly a second faster than Thompson with a stunning time of 52.95 for the final 100.
Thompson swam her 100 in 53.77 — best of the American swimmers and enough to give the team a national record of 3:36.39. The Netherlands took bronze in 3:37.59.
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