DAY 1 / Freeman Has the Light Stuff

As the Olympic flame made its way from Athens to Australia, the biggest question was who would draw the honor of lighting the big fire at Sydney. Rod Laver? Paul Hogan? Olivia Newton-John? Or would Greg Norman try to ace it with a pitching wedge and a flaming Maxfli?

The choice turned out to be a splendid one: 400-meter favorite Cathy Freeman--”Our Cathy” to most of Australia--who represented not only women, but also the Aborigines, a sticky issue in the land down under. Freeman literally rose to the occasion in a spectacular ceremony.

DAY 2 / Fire One Thorpedo! Fire Two Thorpedos!

Track and field might be the big event in the rest of the world, but swimming is the first love of Australians and the pool is where they figured to have the most success. Their chief weapon in the so-called “Wet War” against the United States was Ian Thorpe, whose age matched the size of his feet--17.

To say Thorpe didn’t disappoint in his Olympic debut would be a gross understatement. He set a world record in the 400-meter freestyle, then, about an hour later, came back to anchor another world mark in the 400 freestyle relay, handing the U.S. its first Olympic loss in the event.

DAY 3 / Murmurs in the Pool and on the Pitch

When an athlete comes out of nowhere to find spectacular success, it’s either a great story or a suspicious one. Both could be said of Dutch swimmer Inge de Bruijn, who set a world record in the 100-meter butterfly but was hounded about rumors of drug use.

Meanwhile, the U.S. women’s soccer team, the glamour girls from the 1999 World Cup, appeared to be a step slower in a 1-1 tie against China.

One platform, no weighting: And even more on the negative front, Turkey’s Naim “Pocket Hercules” Suleymanoglu, a three-time gold medalist, was gone.

DAY 4 / If You Don’t Love It, You’re Krayzelburg

Lenny Krayzelburg had a story just made for NBC: He escaped persecution, crossed the globe and ended up in the Valley. The only thing missing was a disease, but the network could probably add one in the editing process.

Krayzelburg, born in Ukraine, fulfilled his dream by winning the gold medal in the 100 backstroke and he would still have the 200 to come.

From the you-can’t-win-them-all department, Dot Richardson made two errors in the 11th inning and Japan ended the 112-game winning streak for the U.S. softball team, the defending gold medalists.

DAY 5 / Girls Couldn’t Be Saved by the Bela

This time, there was no Kerri Strug. There was no injured ankle. There was no “You can do it.” And there was no gold medal, no medal at all.

The U.S. women gymnasts failed to win a team medal for the first time since 1988. How much of that was because this team wasn’t as talented as the others, and how much was because Bela Karolyi wasn’t allowed on the floor during competition? “He takes credit when we do good, but he blames everybody else when we do bad,” Jamie Dantzscher said.

This time, Bela was blaming everybody else.

DAY 6 / How Did We Get Smart? Misty by That Much

The Americans were winning the battle of the pool with Australia, and one reason was the stunning victory of Misty Hyman in the 200-meter butterfly, upsetting defending Olympic champion Susie O’Neill.

Jenny Thompson, the ultimate team player, earned her seventh swimming gold medal--all in relays.

The U.S. softball team was on another streak, this one a three-game loser, as Australia stunned the Americans with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th.

Track star Marie-Jose Perec won the 10,000-mile flee-style and returned to France.

DAY 7 / It Wasn’t the Pool That Was Chilly

If anyone knows exactly why swimmers Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres don’t get along, they’re not talking for the record. But suffice to say they are not buds.

That’s what made for such delicious irony when there was a tie for the bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle between guess who.

And if that wasn’t a painful enough moment, imagine spending your entire life (well, in these cases, about 14 or 15 years) training long hours in gymnastics, waiting for that shot at Olympic gold. Then it turns out the vault in Sydney is the wrong height. Ooh, that’ll leave a mark.

DAY 8 / And You Thought Shot Didn’t Take Finn-esse

Track and field finally got into full swing with a major upset in the shotput. Arsi Harju of Finland didn’t break 70 feet, but he broke U.S. hearts by winning the gold. Where was C.J. Hunter when we needed him most?

The swimming competition was in practically its last lap when one of the best laps occurred. Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin, who swim at the same club, had something else in common after a dead heat for gold in the 50-meter freestyle.

Synchronized diving and trampolining made their Olympic debuts. That’s enough, thanks.

DAY 9 / Sprint Results: Red, White and Blur

It seemed as if everyone wanted Marion Jones to win the 100 meters, even her fellow competitors, who had a good view about 10 meters behind her as she won the first gold medal in her drive for five.

Maurice Greene didn’t have it nearly as easy, but he still blew away friend and training partner Ato Boldon in the men’s 100, winning the gold in 9.87 seconds to Boldon’s 9.99.

Meanwhile, Tom Lasorda, baseball’s ambassador to the world, had endeared himself during five U.S. victories, but things went ugly in a 6-1 loss to Cuba. The Americans looked minor league. Big time.

DAY 10 / Suddenly, All Smell Broke Loose

Atlanta had a bomb go off in 1996. Sydney had a bombshell.

Track’s ruling body announced that C.J. Hunter, world champion in the shotput but better known as Mr. Marion Jones, had tested positive for a banned substance at a meet in July. Later it would be announced by the IOC drug chief that Hunter had tested positive four times.

Instant questions: Why announce it now? What did Marion know and when did she know it? Did the U.S. cover up other positive tests dating to 1988?

These Games would never be the same.

DAY 11 / Freeman and Johnson Prove 400 Matters

Take a lap. That’s all Cathy Freeman had to do.

Oh, and by the way:

The entire country and an entire race are counting on you.

Freeman provided Sydney’s touchstone emotional moment by winning the 400 meters. Think it was easy? After crossing the finish line, she stayed down on the track for a few minutes to compose herself before taking a victory lap waving the Australian and Aboriginal flags.

Even the great Michael Johnson couldn’t steal Freeman’s thunder on a cool night, getting a relatively slow victory in 43.85 seconds.

DAY 12 / Turn Out the Lights, The Purity’s Over

It would have been nice to talk about Venus Williams’ incredible summer, with a winning streak that stretched to 32 matches and included victories at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and now the Olympics.

The U.S. softball team provided a nice story, rallying from three consecutive losses to defend their gold medal.

The U.S. men’s soccer team provided some unexpected thrills, reaching the semifinals for the first time before falling to Spain.

Unfortunately, the talk was drugs and the IOC’s unhappiness with the U.S. policy.

DAY 13 / Two Big Upsets for Farm System

Tom Lasorda brought a rag-tag group into the big event. No one thought they had a chance. But somehow, he inspired his players to the fruits of victory.

But enough about the 1988 World Series.

Lasorda’s team of minor leaguers defeated Cuba, 4-0, as the U.S. won the gold medal for the first time.

An even more invincible force than Cuba was Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin, who hadn’t given up a point, much less lost a match, in a decade. But Rulon Gardner, a farm boy from Wyoming, pulled it off and even Karelin had to salute him.

DAY 14 / Graceful Victory and Grace in Defeat

Marion Jones continued her drive for five gold medals by breezing to another victory in the 200. She made it look easy, winning by 0.43 seconds, but with all the distractions created by her husband’s drug situation, it was even more impressive.

The U.S. women’s soccer team gave it their best shot, rallying with 15 seconds to play against Norway in the gold-medal game on a Mia Hamm-Tiffeny Milbrett combination, but the Norwegians stormed back in overtime to win. Tears were shed on the U.S. side, possibly for the loss, but more likely because it marked the end of an era.

DAY 15 / Foul Play Ruins Jones’ Shot at 5

The track experts (the people who shop at Wind Gauges R Us) all said Marion Jones would have the most trouble getting a gold medal in the long jump.

For once, the experts were right.

Jones fouled on four of her six attempts, including her final try, and she still wound up missing the gold by less than three inches.

Meanwhile, you can expect a pole vault surge in this country, much like the golf boom after Tiger Woods won the ’97 Masters. Nick Hysong and Lawrence Johnson went 1-2 in the men’s event. That came after Stacy Dragila won the first women’s gold.

DAY 16 / Here’s Why U.S. Reputation Is Flagging

Jon Drummond, Bernard Williams, Brian Lewis and Maurice Greene, you’ve just won a gold medal in the men’s 400-meter relay. What are you going to do next?

“We’re going to make fools of ourselves!”

The U.S. won three out of four relays, Marion Jones finished with three golds and two bronzes, Michael Johnson won his fifth gold medal, but four young men turned a track meet into a circus.

In basketball, the U.S. swept the gold, but the men barely beat . . . France? I know a Dream Team, and this was not one.

DAY 17 / It’s ‘Bye From Oz, See Ya in Athens’

Amid a backdrop of glitter, ballroom dancers, music, Greg Norman, drag queens, Men At Work, men on stilts and a spectacular fireworks show, Australia said farewell to the Olympic Games.

And for the last time, International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch said thank you for a job well done to a host country, and of course declared Sydney “the best Olympic Games ever.”

Until Athens in 2004.