C O V E R
T H E O L Y M P I C G A M E S
Sydney is ready to welcome 10,800 athletes from 200 nations. Here are the likely star performers, certainly the ones to beat
: Russia's genius of the sprint pool
Felix Savn: The heavy hitter from Cuba
Fu Mingxia: China's top diver is back
Hicham El Guerrouj: Lightning out of Morocco
Alexander Karelin: The King Kong of Russian wrestling
Felicia Ballanger: France's cycling dynamo
: Australia's teenage terror of the pool
Stacy Dragila: Pole-vaulting the U.S. over its rivals
Pyrros Dimas: Lifting weights-and Greek hopes
: The New Zealand rower with heart
Penny Heyns: South Africa's breaststroke queen
: America's, and the world's, fastest man
: Australian women with big sticks
China's Table Tennis Team: White-ball wizards
Chinese Gymnasts: Somersaulting to glory
Brazilian Footballers: Young and hungry
U.S. Rowers: Eight men with oarsome speed
s: Centaurs in quest of gold
The Norwegian Handball Team: Hard-hitting women
Cuba's Volleyball All-Stars: Ready for a title fight
MAP: Where the venues are
: Olympic spirit, or high-performance cocktail?
SILLY SPORTSs: Will roller skating soon be a medal event?
RIVALRY: Grudge matches spice up the competition
: The Olympic Crib Sheet
All the stars and sports for the athletically challenged
A S I A
: In Harm's Way
Pressure mounts for Wahid to rein in West Timor's militias
CHINA: Putting the Brakes On
A posse of top athletes is suspended for illegal drug use
BURMA: No Exit
The junta tightens its grip, calculating that the West won't care
INDIA: A Life Apart
Eunuchs are banding together to demand better treatment
E U R O P E
THE BALKANS: Slobo's Next War?
Milosevic may have his daggers out for Montenegro
: The Reactor Factor
Unlike most of Europe, Moscow is gung-ho for nuclear power
DENMARK: Ecu or Not Ecu?
Danes prepare to vote on entry to the common-currency club
U S A
: When Dubya Went Off-Message
Now that the race has tightened, Bush puts on another face
The Senate: Stormy Weather
Florida was once a Republican gimme. Ain't no sunshine nowr
S O C I E T Y & S C I E N C E
TECHNOLOGY: Pop.Com Goes Crackle and Snap!
Hollywood moguls unplug a much ballyhooed enterprise
ETHICS: One Life to Give?
In Britain, a controversy over the fate of conjoined twins
INNOVATORS: Who's Cool on the Net
Six people who are changing the way we work with the Web
: A veteran Olympian's tale
NOTEBOOK
PERSONAL TIME