OLYMPICS NEWS
August 30, 2004
A Big Fat Greek Goodbye!
Athens bids a Greek-style goodbye to the 2004 Summer Olympic Games
 Fotini Papaleonidopoulou, 10, carries a lantern during the closing ceremonies. |
On Sunday night, under the white light of the moon, people from 202 nations danced, sang and celebrated the end of a successful summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games.
“The world discovered a new Greece,” Athens 2004 president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said. She helped to ensure that the nail-biting race to finish new stadiums and rebuild old ones did not delay the start up of the games. The overall cost totaled $10 billion. The city of Athens spent a record amount of money—$1.2 billion—to keep the 70,000 spectators, 10,500 athletes, 21,500 journalists and 45,000 volunteers safe in Olympic Village.
 |  The U.S. women's basketball team celebrates winning the gold medal. |
Golden in Greece
The U.S. led the way in the medal count with 103 medals in all, 35 of them gold. One of the last gold medals earned was by the U.S. women’s basketball team. On Saturday, the team, powered by Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley and Sheryl Swoopes, beat Australia 74-63 for their fifth Olympic gold medal. Other gold medallists included gymnast Carly Patterson, 16, who became the first U.S. all-around champion since Mary Lou Retton, who won the title 20 years ago. U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, won a historic eight medals at the games, six of them gold. And who could forget the veteran U.S. women’s soccer team that beat Brazil 2-1 in overtime to win the gold.
The Road to Victory
Despite the success of the U.S. team, the road to glory had a few bumps c. The so-called Dream Team of men’s basketball didn’t live up to its name. For the first time since 1988, the gold medal in men’s basketball did not go to the U.S.. Then there was Paul Hamm, the all-around gold medal-winning gymnast who was asked to give his medal to South Korea’s Yang Tae-young after judges realized that they scored Tae-young’s routine incorrectly.
Passing the Torch
At the close of ceremonies, a 10-year-old girl held out a white lantern to the lowered 100-foot Olympic flame. The lantern began to sparkle and shine and she passed the light on to waiting children who also held up flickering white lanterns. The ceremony represented the passing of the torch to Beijing, China, the site of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
“You have won,” said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge to the people of Greece. “These were unforgettable, dream games.”
Top 5 Medal-Winning CountriesCheck out Sports Illustrated For Kids' coverage of the Summer Olympics in Athens!
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U.S. Piles up Medals in Athens
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Phelps on a Roll
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