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2000 Summer Olympics

See also: 2000 Summer Paralympics[?]
The Games of the XXVII Olympiad were held in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. Sydney was elected in 1993 above Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul and Manchester.

Games of the XXVII Olympiad
Nations participating199
Athletes participating10,651 (6,582 men, 4,069 women)
Events300 in 28 sports
Opening ceremoniesSeptember 15, 2000
Closing ceremoniesOctober 1, 2000
Officially opened byWilliam Deane[?]
Athlete's OathRechelle Hawkes[?]
Judge's OathPeter Kerr[?]
Olympic TorchCathy Freeman

Table of contents

Highlights

Prologue

Although the Opening Ceremony was not scheduled until September 15, the football competitions already began on September 13, with the first preliminary matches

Day 1 - September 15

In a long opening cermony, Australia presented itself and its celebrities to the world, with about 3,000 million watching the show. They saw a record 199 nations enter the stadium, the only missing IOC member being the suspended Afghanistan. Most remarkable was the entering of North and South Korea as one team, using a specially designed flag. The two teams would compete separately, however. Four athletes from East Timor also marched in the parade of nations. Although the country-to-be had no National Olympic Committee yet, they were allowed to compete under the Olympic Flag[?]. The Governor-General, William Deane, declared the games to be open.

The ceremonies concluded with the lighting of the Olympic Flame. Former Australian Olympic champions brought the torch through the stadium, handing it over to Cathy Freeman, who lit the flame in the cauldron. A hot favourite for the 400 m title, Freeman is a major role model for the Aborigines in Australia.

Day 2 - September 16

The first medals of the Games were awarded in the women's air rifle shooting event, which was won by Nancy Johnson[?] of the United States.

Triathlon made its Olympic debut with the women's race. Set in the surroundings of the Sydney Opera House, Brigitte McMahon[?] of Switzerland swam, cycled and ran to the first gold medal in the sport, beating the favoured home athletes.

The first star of the Games was Ian Thorpe. The 17-year-old Australian first set a new World Record in the 400 m freestyle final before competing in an exciting 4 x 100 m freestyle final. Swimming the last leg, Thorpe passed the leading Americans and arrived in a new World Record time, two tenths of a second ahead of the Americans. In the same event for women, the Americans also broke World Record, finishing ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden.

IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, at his last Olympics, had to leave for home, as his wife was severely ill. Upon arrival, his wife had already passed away. Samaranch returned to Sydney four days later.

Day 3 - September 17

Canadian Simon Whitfield[?] sprinted away in the last 100 m of the men's triathlon, becoming the inaugural winner in the event.

On the cycling track, Robert Bartko[?] beated fellow German Jens Lehmann[?] in the individual pursuit, setting a new Olympic Record. Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel[?] set a World Record in the semi-finals the same event for women.

In the swimming pool, American Tom Dolan[?] beat the World record in the 400 m medley, successfully defending the title he won in Atlanta four years prior. Dutchwoman Inge de Bruijn also clocked a new World Record, beating her own time in the 100 m butterfly final to win by more than a second.

Day 4 - September 18

The main event for the Australians on the fourth day of the Games was the 200 m freestyle. Dutchman Pieter van den Hoogenband had broken the World Record in the semi-finals, taking it from the new Australian hero Ian Thorpe, who came close to the World Record in his semi-final heat. As the final race finished, Van den Hoogenband's time was exactly the same as in the semi-finals, finishing ahead of Thorpe by only half a second.

China wins the gold medal in the men's team all-around gymnastics competition, after being the runner-up in the previous two Olympics. The other medals are taken by Ukraine and Russia, respectively.

Zijlaard-van Moorsel lived up to the expectations set by her world record in the semis by winning the gold medal. The title completed her return to the sport after a long leave because of anorexia.

Medals Awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Medal Count

PosCountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1United States39253397
2Russia32282888
3China28161559
4Australia16251758
5Germany14172657
6France13141138
7Italy1381334
8Cuba1111729
9United Kingdom1110728
9South Korea891128
11Romania116926
12Netherlands118423
13Ukraine3101023
14Japan58518
15Hungary86317
15Belarus331117
17Poland65314
17Canada33814
19Bulgaria56213
19Greece46313
21Sweden45312
21Brazil06612
23Spain33511
24Norway43310
25Switzerland1629
26Ethiopia4138
26Czech Republic2338
28Kazakhstan3407
28Kenya2327
28Georgia0077
28Jamaica0337
32Denmark2316
32Indonesia1326
32Mexico1236
35Lithuania2035
35Algeria1135
35Slovakia1315
35Argentina0235
35Belgium0235
35Morocco0145
35South Africa0235
35Taiwan0145
43Iran3014
43Turkey3014
43Finland2114
43New Zealand1034
43Uzbekistan1124
43North Korea0134
49Austria2103
49Azerbaijan2013
49Estonia1023
49Latvia1113
49Thailand1023
49Yugoslavia1113
49Nigeria0303
49Portugal0033
57Slovenia2002
57Bahamas1102
57Croatia1012
57Armenia0022
57Costa Rica0022
57Moldova0112
57Trinidad and Tobago0112
64Cameroon1001
64Colombia1001
64Mozambique1001
64Barbados0011
64Chile0011
64Iceland0011
64India0011
64Ireland0101
64Israel0011
64Kuwait0011
64Kyrgyzstan0011
64Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia0011
64Qatar0011
64Saudi Arabia0101
64Sri Lanka0011
64Uruguay0101
64Vietnam0101

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