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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
1 Highlights
2 Medals awarded
3 Medal count
4 References

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 cycling in the semis by winning the gold medal. The title completed her return to the sport after a long leave because of anorexia.

Day ?? - September

By rowing in the winning coxed four, Steve Redgrave of Great Britain became a member of a select group who had won gold medals at five consecutive Olympics.

Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Medal count

PosCountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1United States40243397
2Russia32282888
3China28161559
4Australia16251758
5Germany13172656
6France13141138
7Italy1381334
8Netherlands129425
9Cuba1111729
10United Kingdom1110728
11Romania116825
12South Korea8101028
13Hungary86317
14Poland65314
15Japan58518
16Bulgaria56213
17Greece46313
18Sweden45312
19Norway43310
20Ethiopia4138
21Ukraine3101023
22Kazakhstan3407
23Belarus331117
24Canada33814
25Spain33511
26Turkey3025
27Iran3014
28Czech Republic2338
29Kenya2327
30Denmark2316
31Finland2114
32Austria2103
33Lithuania2035
34Azerbaijan2013
35Slovenia2002
36Switzerland1629
37Indonesia1326
38Slovakia1315
39Mexico1236
40Algeria1135
41Uzbekistan1124
42Latvia1113
42Yugoslavia1113
44Bahamas1102
45New Zealand1034
46Estonia1023
46Thailand1023
48Croatia1012
49Cameroon1001
49Colombia1001
49Mozambique1001
52Brazil06612
53Jamaica0437
54Nigeria0303
55Belgium0235
55South Africa0235
57Argentina0224
58Morocco0145
58Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)0145
60North Korea0134
61Moldova0112
61Trinidad and Tobago0112
61Saudi Arabia0112
64Ireland0101
64Uruguay0101
64Vietnam0101
67Georgia0066
68Portugal0022
68Costa Rica0022
70Armenia0011
70Barbados0011
70Chile0011
70Iceland0011
70India0011
70Israel0011
70Kuwait0011
70Kyrgyzstan0011
70Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia0011
70Qatar0011
70Sri Lanka0011

References

Internal links

External links

Bibliography


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