David Leggat: The Olympics begin - and memories will be made

COMMENT

When the Olympics are over on August 30, what, and who, will we be talking about?

Will we be hailing new heroes of the Games of the 28th Olympiad, as they are clumsily called; thinking of those who failed gallantly; sticking pins into those who flopped at the doping table; or saluting Greece for triumphing over the naysayers who argued it couldn't be done?

It all about the personal perspective.

Here's one thought: Australia's swimming team contains a 19-year-old world recordholder, Libby Lenton.

The Townsville teenager is at her first Olympics and she's tipped to leave with a gold medallion in her pocket.

Another brash young Aussie ready to flay her rivals in cold, clinical fashion? Well, when she first walked into the swimming arena, she peered around at the vastness, swallowed hard and burst into tears. Tears of joy at just being here.

Here's another. Think of Kiribati and East Timor, first-time Olympic nations although the Timorese competed at Sydney under the International Olympic Committee flag.

Kiribati has three competitors, two sprinters and a 16-year-old weightlifter, Meameaa Thomas. East Timor will field two marathon runners - Aguida Amaral, the 1.51m mother of four who was 43rd in the Sydney Games, and received a resounding ovation on that occasion; and Gil da Cruz Trindade, possessor of one of the more colourful names of the Games.

At the other end of the scale, the US has 793 competitors. Consider the prospect of Kiribati's 100m representative, Karianako Nariki, lining up alongside American hotshot Maurice Greene in the heats.

Both equal members of the Games family, but with ambitions and intentions worlds apart.

The drug spectre hangs like a black cloud over the Games. The first positive test has been taken, and Kenyan boxer David Munyasia, has been given the red card. It's a depressing start, given that the Games haven't even officially begun.

There will be more. That's just the way the Games are these days.

And that gives weight to the cynical viewpoint. Who is really clean and who is dirty? As you watch the Games that thought won't be far from the mind.

Who will be the shining lights?

Follow American teenager Michael Phelps' improbable quest for a record eight gold medals in the pool. Do we applaud his desire to go where no one has gone before or cringe at the arrogant gall of even attempting it?

Can Haile Gebreselassie, perhaps the greatest of the modern African distance runners, hold off fellow Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele in the 10,000m? It could be THE event of the Games.

And what of New Zealand - can the country's finest live up to Sports Illustrated's bold prediction of five golds and a bronze?

If it does, it will be New Zealand's best Olympic haul for 20 years.

New Zealand has five world champions in Athens: rowing's Evers-Swindell twins, paddler Ben Fouhy, cyclists Sarah Ulmer and Greg Henderson - although Henderson's title is in the scratch race, a non-Olympic event - and triathlete Bevan Docherty.

Throw in athletes who have a strong international record, such as boardsailor Barbara Kendall and the three-day eventing team, and those who might surprise, such as distance runner Kimberley Smith, shot putter Valerie Adams and mountainbiker Kaschi Leuchs, and the ingredients are in place for a Games to savour.

The next 17 days will tell.