1996 Summer Olympics

Getting to Atlanta may be the easy part of witnessing the 1996 Summer Olympics. Completing the paperwork required to obtain tickets may offer a more formidable challenge.July 25: Women's/men's first-round doubleheader, 6:30 p.m.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The first Winter Olympics in 1924 had a competition called military patrol. This year, it isn't an event, but a way of life. Everywhere you look -- and places you'd never think to look -- there are armed guards. "Tight but polite" is their watchword. Fighter jets patrol the sky, and others are on standby at an Air Force base not far from downtown. Black Hawk helicopters hover and scoot above the city. Chain-link fencing surrounds sites considered important: the village where the athletes live, hotels housing the "Olympic family" (Winter Games-speak for the International Olympic Committee and deep-pockets sponsors)

As part of the countdown to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, a chronological look at past Olympiads is appearingeach Sunday.Amsterdam was the site of the 1928 Summer Games and the last hurrah for Olympic legends Johnny Weissmuller and Paavo Nurmi. But, more importantly, it was the site of the first hurrah for women in track and field.Until 1928, women participated only in archery, golf, tennis and, in 1912, swimming. Seeking to compete in the showcase of the Summer Games, track and field, women formed their own track organizations, even staging "Women's Olympics" in 1922 and 1926.

ABC broadcaster Jim McKay joined Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. yesterday in supporting Washington and Baltimore's bid to play host to the 2012 Olympic Games by joining the regional organizing committee.McKay, who has lived in Baltimore since he was 15, announced his support next to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and members of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition. McKay, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame, has broadcast 10 Olympics."This is another significant step forward in our march to establish credibility in our bid for the Olympics," said Dan Knise, recently appointed president and chief executive of the bid committee.

ATLANTA -- With an emotional victory of unprecedented proportions, Atlanta yesterday morning gained the 1996 Summer Olympics and lost its reputation as an athletic Loserville.For years, this was a city that supported its professional teams with empty seats and emptier enthusiasm. The hockey team, the Flames, has been gone with the wind for years. The Braves, suffering through another pathetic baseball season, drew 3,473 on Monday night. The Hawks, perennial National Basketball Association underachievers, dumped coach Mike Fratello after last season.

ABC broadcaster Jim McKay joined Baltimore Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. yesterday in supporting Washington and Baltimore's bid to play host to the 2012 Olympic Games by joining the regional organizing committee.McKay, who has lived in Baltimore since he was 15, announced his support next to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and members of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition. McKay, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame, has broadcast 10 Olympics."This is another significant step forward in our march to establish credibility in our bid for the Olympics," said Dan Knise, recently appointed president and chief executive of the bid committee.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The first Winter Olympics in 1924 had a competition called military patrol. This year, it isn't an event, but a way of life. Everywhere you look -- and places you'd never think to look -- there are armed guards. "Tight but polite" is their watchword. Fighter jets patrol the sky, and others are on standby at an Air Force base not far from downtown. Black Hawk helicopters hover and scoot above the city. Chain-link fencing surrounds sites considered important: the village where the athletes live, hotels housing the "Olympic family" (Winter Games-speak for the International Olympic Committee and deep-pockets sponsors)

ATLANTA -- Although Alice S. Hawthorne did not run a single lap or win a single competition, her name is likely to be forever associated with the 1996 Summer Olympics as a casualty of the Games' spirit of harmony and openness.Hawthorne, who was 44, died in the Saturday morning bomb blast that sprayed shrapnel over a swath of Centennial Olympic Park, the 21-acre grass and brick-paved area that stands at the physical heart of the Olympic Games. The park had been reclaimed from slums and old warehouses to become a place for visitors and locals to meet, greet and celebrate -- no high-priced tickets or special passes needed.

Two special events will be celebrated on Sept. 11 -- Fort McHenry's 200th birthday and the 180th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore. Plans are a little incomplete at this date, but my friend Alan Walden, president of the Patriots of Fort McHenry, says it should be quite a day.President Clinton, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Gov. William Donald Schaefer, senators and congressmen are among those expected to attend the gala celebration, along...

Jeff Klepacki, one of the best heavyweights rowers in the United States, says $15,000 can buy two boats, or a car, or a few years of room and board.It could also be the official prize of a made-in-America gold-medal dream.This weekend, Klepacki and hundreds of other American Olympians will learn whether they'll be competing for money and medals at future Olympic and world championship events."I'm not going to think of money for the gold medal as an incentive," said Klepacki, of East Windsor, N.J. "But it would help to pay off all the expenses of an Olympic campaign."

NAGANO, Japan -- Well, it's not every Winter Olympics that includes sumo wrestlers and snowboarders.But then, the organizers of the last Winter Olympics of the 20th century are out to prove that just about anything is possible on ice and snow.The Nagano Games, which begin with opening ceremonies televised Friday night to the United States, could be subtitled the Transition Games.There will be new stars and new sports in a 17-day, multibillion-dollar spectacular centered in this city of 360,000 tucked in rugged mountains 125 miles west of Tokyo.

ATLANTA -- Although Alice S. Hawthorne did not run a single lap or win a single competition, her name is likely to be forever associated with the 1996 Summer Olympics as a casualty of the Games' spirit of harmony and openness.Hawthorne, who was 44, died in the Saturday morning bomb blast that sprayed shrapnel over a swath of Centennial Olympic Park, the 21-acre grass and brick-paved area that stands at the physical heart of the Olympic Games. The park had been reclaimed from slums and old warehouses to become a place for visitors and locals to meet, greet and celebrate -- no high-priced tickets or special passes needed.

ATLANTA -- Its image has changed dramatically over the years: from a town that rebuilt itself after being burned to the ground during the Civil War to a city that became the center of the New South and a symbol of relative civility in a region with a history of racial divisiveness.Atlanta hasn't quite become as cosmopolitan as some of its prominent citizens might lead you to believe, but it's certainly more glitz than grits these days. After six years of hype, the 1996 Summer Olympics open here Friday night.

As part of the countdown to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, a chronological look at past Olympiads is appearingeach Sunday.Amsterdam was the site of the 1928 Summer Games and the last hurrah for Olympic legends Johnny Weissmuller and Paavo Nurmi. But, more importantly, it was the site of the first hurrah for women in track and field.Until 1928, women participated only in archery, golf, tennis and, in 1912, swimming. Seeking to compete in the showcase of the Summer Games, track and field, women formed their own track organizations, even staging "Women's Olympics" in 1922 and 1926.

As part of the countdown to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, a chronological look at past Olympiads will appear each Sunday. If the 1900 Olympics had been made into a movie, the title would've been "Forget Paris." French baron Pierre de Coubertin, who had launched the Olympic movement in 1896 with the Summer Games in Athens, was ashamed at how poorly his hometown handled the Games. "We have made a hash of our work," he said.Coubertin had envisioned a gala Olympic setting for Paris, complete with new stadiums and parks, and classic Greek architecture.

Getting to Atlanta may be the easy part of witnessing the 1996 Summer Olympics. Completing the paperwork required to obtain tickets may offer a more formidable challenge.July 25: Women's/men's first-round doubleheader, 6:30 p.m.

As part of the countdown to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, a chronological look at past Olympiads will appear each Sunday. If the 1900 Olympics had been made into a movie, the title would've been "Forget Paris." French baron Pierre de Coubertin, who had launched the Olympic movement in 1896 with the Summer Games in Athens, was ashamed at how poorly his hometown handled the Games. "We have made a hash of our work," he said.Coubertin had envisioned a gala Olympic setting for Paris, complete with new stadiums and parks, and classic Greek architecture.

NAGANO, Japan -- Well, it's not every Winter Olympics that includes sumo wrestlers and snowboarders.But then, the organizers of the last Winter Olympics of the 20th century are out to prove that just about anything is possible on ice and snow.The Nagano Games, which begin with opening ceremonies televised Friday night to the United States, could be subtitled the Transition Games.There will be new stars and new sports in a 17-day, multibillion-dollar spectacular centered in this city of 360,000 tucked in rugged mountains 125 miles west of Tokyo.

Two special events will be celebrated on Sept. 11 -- Fort McHenry's 200th birthday and the 180th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore. Plans are a little incomplete at this date, but my friend Alan Walden, president of the Patriots of Fort McHenry, says it should be quite a day.President Clinton, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Gov. William Donald Schaefer, senators and congressmen are among those expected to attend the gala celebration, along...

Jeff Klepacki, one of the best heavyweights rowers in the United States, says $15,000 can buy two boats, or a car, or a few years of room and board.It could also be the official prize of a made-in-America gold-medal dream.This weekend, Klepacki and hundreds of other American Olympians will learn whether they'll be competing for money and medals at future Olympic and world championship events."I'm not going to think of money for the gold medal as an incentive," said Klepacki, of East Windsor, N.J. "But it would help to pay off all the expenses of an Olympic campaign."