Efharisto, Athens
 
Athens, Greece, 30 August 2004 

AP

Efharisto!

A nervous world learned the Greek word for "thank you" and repeated it endlessly at an astonishingly successful Athens Olympics that quelled fears, surprised skeptics and greatly honoured the birthplace of the Games.

Efharisto, Athens, for architectural masterpieces of stadiums and arenas that showcased record performances. The fountain sprays, reflecting pools and soaring arches. The undulating, giant white Wall of Nations that caught the whispering wind, bringing music to our ears and smiles to our faces.

Efharisto for the thousands of security forces who stood guard day and night, keeping terrorism away. An undercurrent of danger, a sense of tranquility. We saw guns everywhere, walked in peace.

Fireworks and spectacular lighting kicked off the closing ceremony Sunday night, an extravaganza of folk dancing and music in the Olympic tradition that summed up the glee and relief the Games brought to Greece. Shortly afterward, thousands of athletes marched into the stadium, waving their arms and flags, snapping photos of each other, hugging, and bathing in the cheers of 70 000 fans.

"You have won," International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge told the Greek people, who responded with a roar.

"You have won by brilliantly meeting the tough challenge of holding the games.

"These were unforgettable, dream games."

He was right, even if they started slowly the first week with empty seats and vacant plazas as many Greeks took their holidays and frightened tourists stayed away. The second week saw the Games transformed. The huge Olympic stadium was packed each night for track and field. Basketball, tennis and beach volleyball rocked.

There had been no shortage of worries that Athens would not be ready for these Olympics. As late as March 2000, the IOC considered moving the Olympics out of Greece, possibly to South Korea.

"It's always nice to underpromise and overdeliver," said Jim Easton, an IOC vice-president from the United States.

Athletes who finished their events partied, roaming the Plaka, Syntagma and Omonia squares. It was Greece at its rollicking best, a spirited fusion of visitors from all countries, and of all colours and ages. It reminded us again, at a time when we need all the reminding we can get, that the Olympics celebrate humanity's highest aspirations, the universal quest for peace and the exalted qualities of body, mind and spirit that transcend cultures.

Efharisto, Athens, for coupling the ancient with the new, putting up with years of jarring construction, spending billions beyond your budget, and giving us a glimpse of your future as a sophisticated, modern city.

"The world discovered a new Greece," said Athens 2004 president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who made it all happen with her fierce determination to overcome construction delays and avoid an international humiliation.

These games took us to their sacred origin in Olympia, the mythological home of the gods, to watch the shot put, to Marathon to stand on the spot where the race got its name.

We trod like pilgrims to a shrine up the dusty stones of the Acropolis to gaze with awe at the 2 500-year-old Parthenon. Our imaginations did the rest, letting us feel the spirit of Socrates, Plato and Aristole; Pericles and Alexander the Great; Hippocrates and Herodotus; Euclid and Pythagoras -- that brainy bunch who laid the foundation for our culture.

The scourge of sports -- steroids, stimulants and other drugs -- intruded but didn't spoil the Games. A record two dozen athletes were caught, seven lost medals, and there could be more to come as the test results keep rolling in.

"Each positive test is a blessing for us because it's eliminating the cheats and protecting the clean athletes," Rogge said.

"The more we find, the better."

There were scandals and controversies, as always.

Greek sprint stars Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou broke their countrymen's hearts -- and angered many -- when they pulled out of the games after questions over missed drug tests and a suspicious motorcycle crash the night before the opening ceremony.

Three gymnastics judges were suspended after it was determined South Korean Yang Tae-young was scored improperly, costing him a gold medal that went to American Paul Hamm.

Even the final event, the men's marathon, was marred an hour before the closing ceremony when a defrocked Irish priest bolted from the crowd and grabbed the leader, Brazil's Vanderlei de Lima, about five kilometres from the finish. De Lima recovered and finished, but had to settle for a bronze when a protest by his track federation was rejected.

"I was scared, because I didn't know what could happen to me, whether he was armed with a knife, a revolver or something, and whether he was going to kill me," de Lima said. "That's what cost me the gold medal."

The marathon medalists, gold winner Stefano Baldini of Italy, American silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, and de Lima received their olive wreaths and medals at the closing ceremony.

These Olympics saw the rise of China as a sports superpower as it positioned itself for the 2008 games in Beijing. The United States, buoyed by the brilliance of swimming star Michael Phelps but embarrassed by the three losses and mere bronze of its once-vaunted men's basketball team, won the most medals.

Americans beat their target of 100 by three, 35 of them gold. Russia finished second with 92, including 27 gold. China was third with 63 medals, 32 gold.

Greeks gathered at cafes and tavernas in the Plaka to watch the marathon and the closing ceremony on wide screens and TV sets.

"The Greeks showed once again what they're capable of if they set their minds to it," said Yianna Mihalakpoulou, a graphic designer.

China previewed its own welcome of the Olympics with a group of children performing with the Beijing Opera. A young girl, standing by a huge red lantern-shaped stage set, held a small lantern and sang Jasmine.

The cauldron of the Olympic Flame was slowly lowered, symbolically lighting the torches passed to children that will be carried around the world to the next Summer Games. At 10:48pm, Athens' flame was extinguished, singers took the stage and volleys of fireworks again lit up the sky.

And, once more, Athens, Efharisto!

Men's relay team fails to advance
 
Canadian Press, August 27, 2004
 
Athens — Charles Allen was the captain of the men's relay team here and everything else was secondary.

But the hurdler from Brampton, Ont., paid a price for his commitment to the Canadian foursome in the final of the men's 110-metre hurdles on Friday. He ran in hurdles just 80 minutes after the relay team failed to advance to the final.

Allen finished sixth, the race won by Xiang Liu of China in world-record pace.

"I had some trouble in my warmup, my hamstring was cramping up, probably from running the 4x100 relay," said Allen, 27. "I was a bit exhausted coming into the hurdle race.

"I tried to pull it together, but as I started racing, probably over the third and fourth hurdles, I starting feeling my hamstring grabbing a bit and I couldn't push it like I wanted to."

Xiang, who won China's first men's Olympic gold medal in track and field, tied the world record of 12.91 seconds set by Colin Jackson of Great Britain in August of 1993. He broke the previous Olympic mark of 12.95 set by American Allen Johnson in 1996 in Atlanta.

Allen, who rewrote his personal-best time in each of the three qualifying rounds, crossed in 13.48 seconds, well off the 13.23 he had clocked in the semifinals Thursday night. Running out of Lane 1, the Canadian was quick out of the blocks, but after clearing the first hurdle, knocked over the last nine.

American Terrence Trammell won the silver in 13.18, while Anier Garcia of Cuba took the bronze in 13.20.

Allen was picked for the Canadian team as a relay runner, and it wasn't until some promising performances over the last couple of weeks that Athletics Canada officials decided to enter him in the hurdles.

And with his steady assault on his hurdles time over the last few days, and following the horrifying fall of Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont., in the women's final earlier in the week, Allen was suddenly Canada's best hopes for a medal in the event.

"It would have been nice to finish third but it didn't work out," said Allen, the first Canadian to race in the Olympic men's hurdles final since Mark McCoy won gold in 1992 in Barcelona.

No hurdles medal and no relay final. Yet, Allen said he wouldn't have done anything different. His heart was always with the relay team.

"That was my job," said Allen, who trains at Clemson University in South Carolina, where he's working on a master's degree. "I came here to run the relay, and I was out there to contribute to the team and trying to help us qualify.

"I'm just a bit disappointed that we didn't."

Allen teamed up with leadoff runner Nicolas Macrozonaris of Laval, Que., Toronto's Anson Henry, and anchor Pierre Browne of Toronto to finish seventh in the their semifinal heat of the relay, in a season-best time of 38.64 seconds.

"Things were going really, really well," said Henry, about the relay training leading up to the Olympics. "Everyone was getting comfortable with their positions, getting comfortable with each other, exchanges were going well.

"We really expected to come out here and really do something. It just didn't happen."

The top three in each heat and the next two fastest times advanced to Saturday's final.

The United States had the fastest qualifying time of 38.02 seconds.

Macrozonaris said they played it safe on the relay exchanges, perhaps a bit too safe.

"We don't have the raw speed like the Americans have, and we only could take advantage on the exchanges, and we really wanted to push the zones and play with fire," said Macrozonaris, who ran the open 100 metres with Browne earlier in the Games — neither one advancing out the quarter-finals.

"I said straight out, I'd rather risk dropping the stick than to finish dead last in the race. We came here to end up somewhere on the podium or in the final."

Allen believes there are podium performances to come.

The five-foot-nine hurdler, who raced for Guyana at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and still holds the national record there, spoke with reporters in the tunnel leading from the track. Xiang stood a few feet down, dozens of Chinese journalists chanting his name.

"When I get up there, I'm sure all you guys will want to be behind me," said Allen, laughing. "It's just a matter of time."

Earlier in the day, Tim Berrett of Edmonton raced to 31st place in the men's 50-kilometre race walk in likely his final Olympic appearance.

The 38-year-old Berrett, the oldest member of Canada's track team here, finished in four hours 10 minutes 31 seconds.

"It wasn't that I was particularly exhausted, but I just couldn't get that rhythm and that's really important in walking," said Berrett. "So it's disappointing."

Le relais canadien échoue
Le vendredi 27 août 2004
 
Demi-finale du 4x100 mètres

Presse Canadienne

Athènes

Le relais canadien 4x100 mètres a échoué dès le premier tour éliminatoire, vendredi, même si le quatuor a signé sa meilleure performance de la saison pour le Canada.

Nicolas Macrozonaris, Anson Henry, Charles Allen et Pierre Browne n'ont pu faire mieux que la septième place de leur vague en un temps de 38,64 secondes, à égalité avec l'Allemagne. Le Nigeria a remporté la série en 38,27 secondes.

Selon Macrozonaris, le Canada n'a pu gruger les précieux dixièmes de seconde nécessaires dans les échanges du témoin. «On ne possède pas la rapidité brute des Américains, on doit donc procéder à des échanges très rapides. On a fait de bons échanges, mais nous n'avons pas suffisamment pris de risques. J'aurais préféré qu'on échappe le bâton au lieu de finir en dernière position de notre vague.»

«Nous n'avons pas besoin de courir individuellement en 9,91, les Français et les Italiens le démontrent à chaque année, a souligné le sprinter montréalais. Nous formons une jeune équipe, nous avons fourni l'effort maximum. Je suis déçu, mais pas de notre équipe.»

Posted on Sat, Aug. 21, 2004

By ANN KILLION, San Jose Mercury News

ATHENS - The Greeks could sue for defamation of character. They could demand an apology from the world. Instead they just shrug and order another frappe.

Their Olympics are going beautifully. Just like they expected. After all, they invented this business.

For years, we heard how miserable these Olympics would be, how dangerous, how choked with traffic, how polluted, how unfinished. After just a couple of days, some observers turned in an instant thumbs-down on the Games. No atmosphere. No crowds. The horror – gymnastics wasn't even sold out!

Such rips are ridiculous. For one thing, you can't judge the Olympics until they start. And, in reality, the Athens Games didn't start until Friday, when track and field got under way.

Olympic atmosphere comes from 160,000 people streaming into the park every day. And that can only happen when track starts. Until then, the Olympic park seems deserted even with 30,000 people inside it.

Saturday night, the upper bowl of Olympic Stadium was filled with rippling blue and white Greek flags and fans cheering for runners and discus throwers. The roar of the crowd rose into the Athens night. You couldn't convince anyone there that these Games have no atmosphere.

So far these Games get a huge thumbs-up from this corner. And not just because I set my personal bar so low - my goal was to come home alive. I swore I wouldn't whine about slow buses or hot weather.

I'm still alive and feeling sheepish about all my worries. The heightened security is evident but not oppressive. The fear-mongering has dissolved into a happy Olympic atmosphere where Canadian fans wander around in togas and olive wreaths drinking Mythos beer. The Games aren't over, but so far, Athens feels very safe.

And there hasn't been much to whine about. The buses run on time. The taxis are cheap. The phones work. Even the weather has cooperated, with temperature mostly in the 90s during the days, but not the 100-plus heat that had been advertised.

Are they as great as the Sydney Summer Olympics, which drew rave reviews? So far, they're not far behind (and gymnastics wasn't sold out there either – not everyone loves the little pixies as much as Americans).

The scene at Darling Harbor was terrific - but the crowded cafes of the Plaka, in the shadow of the Acropolis, are almost as lively.

Are these Games as great as Barcelona, which I didn't attend but many veteran Olympic writers say is their favorite? They're not far behind – and they're beating Barcelona in ticket sales.

And how do they compare to Atlanta? There is no comparison. The United States hosted the worst Summer Olympics of the modern mega-Games era.

Everything people feared would happen here actually did happen in Atlanta: There was a bombing, the buses didn't run on time, the computer system didn't function, the crowds were suffocating and the weather was oppressive. Greece, the smallest country to host an Olympics in 52 years and one of the poorest countries in the European Union, is outperforming the world's super power.

On Saturday, Athens was abuzz. The efficient new metro system was packed with fans heading to every venue. Inside the Olympic park every event except trampoline was sold out (and you're not going to hold it against the Athenians if they don't support trampoline, are you?).

On Friday, 244,144 fans went to 47 events. Ticket sales have reached 3.2 million – close to the target of 3.4 million – and they're not done yet. The fact that most Athenians were on vacation until last week is part of the Games' new energy.

Not only were the Greeks underestimated, their capital city has been mistreated. For those of us who haven't been here before, Athens is a surprising delight.

Yes, it's crowded and poorly laid out. But it has dazzling historic sites around almost every corner, restaurants and bars that stay open until almost dawn, and wonderful, gracious hosts.

It also has a terrific coastline along the Saronic Gulf. A new tram runs along the water, and Saturday it carried both Olympic spectators and sunbathers. The beaches were packed and Athenians bobbed in the sparkling water.

The first eight days have been a success. I told my cabdriver how impressed I was.

"Of course," he said and shrugged. What did you expect from the folks who came up with idea in the first place?

ROB LONGLEY, SUN MEDIA

August 27, 2004

ATHENS -- Hands up those who thought a man named Charles Allen might be the brightest Canadian prospect for a hurdles medal at these Games. Hands up those who had heard of Charles Allen.

"I did, without a question," the 27-year-old Brampton, Ont., resident said of his prospects after blasting his way into today's final.

"It's just a matter of getting the rhythm down. I have the speed, I have the strength."

WATCH OUT FOR THAT HURDLE

Just one thing, Charles - watch for that first hurdle. As Canadians from coast to coast learned on Tuesday night, it can be a doozy. Then again, banging into the obstacles doesn't seem to be a problem for Allen, who hit the fifth one hard in yesterday's semifinal. But unlike Perdita Felicien's heart-wrenching end to the women's 100-metre hurdles event, Allen kept on charging, finishing fourth in a personal-best time of 13.23 seconds.

In the second round on Wednesday, Allen knocked down nine of 10 hurdles but finished second in what was then a PB of 13.30. If only Felicien could have knocked over one.

"I just went through it," Allen said of his snowplow move last night. "I came up on it and just had to keep going. If I try to avoid hitting the hurdle it's going to get me out of position for the final."

So just who is Allen and how did he slip in to Athens and into medal contention with nary a peep?

First of all, he was a late entrant in the hurdles thanks to a Canadian Olympic Committee loophole.

He came here as the captain of the men's 4x100-metre relay team, but wasn't eligible for the hurdles because he hadn't met the toughened COC standards.

But under COC rules, a coach can enter an athlete in another event once he's here, providing that athlete has met the IAAF standard.

Allen qualified on both counts and at the team's pre-Games training camp in Grosseto, Italy, impressed the Canadian coaching staff.

"We entered him at my discretion," Athletics Canada head coach Alex Gardiner said. "The way he's been running lately, I felt he was ready for a breakthrough and that's what we are seeing."

We sure are. Allen, who was born in Guyana and competed for his homeland in the 2000 Games, came to Greece with a lifetime best of 13.53. In each of his three heats here, he's lowered it.

One more time and Allen, who is the first Canadian to make the Olympic final since Mark McKoy won gold in 1992, could find himself on the podium before tonight is over.

"Since I was running well on the circuit and improving, they decided to put me on the hurdles," said Allen, who holds the national record in Guyana for the event. "It's a good thing that they did."

First things first, though. The hurdles final is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. local time, but at 8:10, Allen will be running his relay leg heat.

It's a heavy load, but Allen doesn't want to let down relay teammates Pierre Browne, Anson Henry and Nic Macrozonaris.

"First and foremost I am here for the 4x100," Allen said of the wild 80 minutes or so that awaits him. "The rest of the guys need me and I'm going to go out there and make sure that I run a good leg for them and advance for the final.

PROMISES TO GO HARD

"Whatever I have after that, I'm going to put it in the final of the hurdles. I'm strong and I'm fit and I'm fast. I'm ready to go."

Allen said he isn't worried about overextending himself and suggested the first race may actually help him prepare for the second.

"The guys are ready, man," Allen said. "You're going to find out, everybody is in gear.

"We're going to put it out there. You'll be a witness of that."

Lori Ewing, Canadian Press

Saturday, August 21, 2004

ATHENS (CP) - Canadian sprinters Nicolas Macrozonaris and Pierre Browne have failed to advance to Sunday's semifinals in the men's 100-metre competition.

Macrozonaris, from Laval, Que., finished second in his first-round heat in 10.40 seconds earlier Saturday to advance to the second round. However, the 23-year-old placed sixth in his second-round heat, despite improving his time to 10.28 seconds. It wasn't enough to qualify him for the semifinals, which will be followed by the men's 100-metre final later Sunday.

Browne, form Toronto, was fifth in his first-round heat in 10.32, despite catching a toe early in the race. His time also improved in his second race, at 10.21 seconds, but that was only good enough for sixth in his heat.

Lori Ewing, Canadian Press

Saturday, August 21, 2004
 
ATHENS (CP) - Nicolas Macrozonaris and Pierre Browne both advanced to Saturday night's quarter-finals of the men's 100 metres.

Macrozonaris, from Laval, Que., finished second in his first-round heat in 10.40 seconds to advance. "I wasn't expecting anything faster," said Macrozonaris, 23, whose fastest time is 10.03. "The point is, when it feels like you're ahead, just relax, and not force anything and try to conserve energy. That's how it is in the first round, nobody's running really good times."

Browne, form Toronto, was fifth in his heat in 10.32, despite catching a toe early in the race.

"I stumbled on my acceleration," said Browne, who won the 100 metres at the Canadian Olympic trials. "When I got out of the blocks I reacted well, I was accelerating, I kind of stumbled."

From that point, Browne was thinking "Catch back up. I was trying to catch back up. You make a mistake, everything goes by so fast."

American Shawn Crawford, who donned a hat and mismatched shoes for the race, had the fastest qualifying time at 10.02. Teammate Maurice Greene, the Olympic gold medallist from Sydney in 2000, cruised to a time of 10.18 to win his heat.

Macrozonaris feels for Greek sprinter

PAT GRIER, SUN MEDIA

August 20, 2004

ATHENS -- Having been adopted as a Greek hero, Quebec-born Nicolas Macrozonaris wasn't about to offend his hosts when asked about disgraced sprinter Kostas Kenteris. Macrozonaris would neither condemn nor defend the man who, along with teammate Katerina Thanou and coach Christos Tsekos, withdrew from the Olympics on Wednesday after a bizarre week that involved a missed drug test and a motorcycle accident that police here in Athens still cannot confirm happened.

FEELS SORRY

But Macrozonaris did say he feels sorry for Kenteris, whom he met at the Sydney Olympics.

"I've talked with him a couple of times and I'm sorry to see this happening to him," said the Laval, Que., resident who will compete in the 100 metres beginning Sunday, his 24th birthday. "I don't know for a fact that whatever he was doing was right or wrong.

"I don't know the specifics or facts (of the affair) so I can't voice my opinion on that."

Because of his Greek heritage - his father was born here - Macrozonaris likely has received more attention in the Greek press than in Canada's. Who knows whether that tempered his comments, though he was less kind to Kenteris's critics.

Macrozonaris said Kenteris never received the credit he deserved after his surprise gold-medal victory in the 200 metres in Sydney four years ago.

"They were not giving him the respect he deserved," Macrozonaris said of the track world. "I don't know if it was jealousy or something, but when a guy wins the gold medal, you should be happy instead of dragging him down into the dirt.

"And now his name is being dragged (in the dirt) again."

LOOKING INTO ACCIDENT

Now a prosecutor looking into the reported accident involving the Greek sprinters wants to take a closer look at the injuries sustained by the athletes, a judicial source said yesterday. It could answer allegations that the accident may not have taken place.

As for Macrozonaris's own gold-medal dream, it appears it might be exactly that.

"I had a dream last night that I won the gold medal," he said with a laugh.

"I beat (former Canadian champion) Bruny Surin."

Sizzling sprinter hopes the gods will be with him in Athens as he tries, once again, to beat the best
 
Jack Todd
Montreal Gazette/CanWest News Service

Thursday, August 12, 2004

MONTREAL - When the runners ease into the blocks for the marquee event of the 2004 Olympic Games this August, a slender young Canadian has at least a chance to upstage the entire planet. Nicolas Macrozonaris already spans cultures, continents and languages: If he can get through the span of 100 metres in Athens quicker than any other athlete, he will be almost as famous as his distant ancestor.

"If you go way, way, way, way back," he says, "my father is a distant, distant cousin of Hermes (the winged messenger who was also the Greek god of commerce, invention, cunning and theft). I think that's where I get my speed."

Then comes the laugh -- a little maniacal, like a man who enjoys poking fun at himself. You hear it often when you talk to the Quebec-born sprinter, a live wire who sizzles with energy even after losing to Pierre Brown at the Canadian championships in Victoria and flying back to Montreal for a last month of training before the Olympics.

"I got my ass kicked in Victoria," Macrozonaris says with another laugh. "It happens. I learned a long time ago you can't win all the time. I never go into these things saying I'm the best."

Nevertheless, he has beaten the best. Macrozonaris arrived as a sprinter in Mexico City in May last year, when his European agent Federico Rosa pulled some strings to get him into a talented field against the likes of American sprinters Jon Drummond and the since-disgraced Tim Montgomery, who had just set a new world record of 9.78 seconds for the 100 metres.

"I knew that door was open for me right then," Macrozonaris says. "When you start from lane 1, nobody knows you're there."

At the finish line, they knew: Macrozonaris won in 10.03, ahead of Montgomery's 10.04. Suddenly, people knew he was there: In that 10-second span, he became a hero in two countries.

If Macrozonaris has any success at all in Athens, he may be doing interviews for a week nonstop. The son of a Greek-born marine electrician from Corfu who came to Canada 40 years ago and a French-Canadian mother (from whom, he says more seriously, he inherited his speed) he has been adopted as a true Greek when he runs in his father's homeland. And as Macrozonaris says, "you don't have to look at the name on my passport to know I have a Greek father. All you have to do is look at me."

Macrozonaris is fluent in English, French and Greek. He speaks the language of his father because he was taught by his grandmother, who died Christmas Eve. Seven months later, her death still bothers him:

"There are two kinds of people," Macrozonaris said. "One, if somebody dies, it's like he drops a couple of tears and that's it. The other guy, he's too compassionate, with him it goes on and on. That's the way I've been since she died. I can't get over it. I'm too compassionate. It still hurts. She meant so much to me. Last week I went to church and lit a candle for her."

The pain he feels for his grandmother has been only part of the problem during a 2004 season that has so far been a painful one for Macrozonaris in many ways. He suffered an early season ankle injury, had his workouts hampered by a tendonitis problem in the back of his knee and endured a flu-like condition that left him feeling fatigued for weeks and may have cost him some weight.

Although Macrozonaris is listed at 6 feet and 168 pounds, he assures a reporter that after a year of weightlifting he has a physique more in keeping with his status as a world-class sprinter, where some of the hulks could step directly onto the stage at a body-building contest.

"How much do you weigh now?" he's asked.

"Give me a minute," he says. "I haven't weighed myself for a while so I'm not sure. Let's see, now. Holy ----! I'm 168 pounds!"

So if he's to do it in Athens, Macrozonaris will have to succeed with speed and finesse, not sheer brute power. Although he ran a season's-best time of 10.20 seconds at the Canadian championships in Victoria on July 10, Macrozonaris was beaten by Toronto's Pierre Brown, who ran a 10.13 and then added insult to injury by insisting that beating the Laval sprinter was no big deal. Macrozonaris characteristically responded by congratulating Brown on his Web site.

Macrozonaris knows that he isn't running his best but he says that he would prefer to sneak up on people in Athens. "I love to be the underdog," he says. "That's just the way I am."

There is one advantage to the lack of musculature: Macrozonaris is never accused of doing steroids to bulk up. "I do get asked my opinion," he says. "I mean, who are reporters going to ask? They're not going to walk up to some guy with huge muscles and ask what he thinks about drugs, because he's going to say 'what are you getting at?"'

Ironically, Macrozonaris first put those swift feet to work when Ben Johnson was Canada's hero. "In my neighbourhood, everyone wanted to be Ben Johnson. Running was cheap -- all you needed was a pair of running shoes. On my street I was always the fastest, even when I was running against my brother's friends, kids who were three or four years older."

After Johnson lost his 100-metre gold medal to a positive drug test in Seoul, Macrozonaris lost interest in running. His interest didn't return until eight years ago, when he sat in his living room and watched Donovan Bailey sprint to glory in Atlanta. "I saw my Mom on the couch and I saw how excited she was. I thought to myself, 'I can do that.' Of course it looks easy. You don't realize how hard it really is."

Macrozonaris joined a high-school track club, became Quebec provincial champion, tied Johnson's junior 50-metre record. While Bailey and Bruny Surin (now Macrozonaris's agent) dominated Canadian sprinting, his star was on the rise.

By the time he defeated Montgomery in Mexico City, Macrozonaris was a promoter's dream: handsome, young and trilingual. He was snapped up by Reebok. Sponsors and reporters were everywhere. The Bank of Cyprus signed on and will fly his family (father Spiro, mother Doris and brother Alkis) to Greece for the Olympic Games.

Unfortunately, there has been less success on the track. That 10.03 in Mexico City says Macrozonaris can do it, but by the time he hits the track in Athens he will be 15 months removed from the performance that stunned the sprint world and still trying to find his level in the sport.

"If my talent says I can be eighth at the Olympics, then I'll be content with that," he says, "but I think I can do a lot more. It's hard. There are always these little glitches, like you're a little injured and you can't train the way you should, or somebody says let's go to Scratches (a combination eatery and pool hall) for some chicken wings and you go. You do that even once a month and at the end of the month you know you weren't perfect. It's like you have to be a monk."

The preliminary rounds in the 100 metres will be held in Athens Aug. 21. Should Macrozonaris go through, the semifinals and finals will be the next day.

"You know what day that is? That's my 24th birthday. It's going to be surprise, surprise, surprise, then Euro 2004 all over again. I'm telling you. It's my turn to go. The Greek government has been planning this for years. First the Euro, then I win the 100. You watch."

You wait for it. Then it comes: The laugh.

He's laughing, but you know just how badly he wants it: Surprise, surprise, surprise, then Euro 2004 all over again.

Mercredi 11 août 2004 - ATHENES (PC) - Nicolas Macrozonaris assure avoir réglé son différend avec l'entraîneur du relais canadien 4 x 100 mètres Glenroy Gilbert et le sprinter dit être prêt à s'acquitter de la tâche qu'on lui demandera afin d'aider le pays à remporter une médaille aux Jeux d'Athènes.

"Si on veut que je fasse le premier relais, je vais le faire", a-t-il affirmé, mercredi, à l'occasion d'un point de presse chez Reebok, qui est un de ses commanditaires.

Macrozonaris n'a fait que passer en Grèce, avant d'aller peaufiner son entraînement en Italie en vue des épreuves de qualification olympiques du 21 août.

Grosso modo, le Montréalais a dit avoir retrouvé quelque peu la confiance à la suite du chrono de 10,24 secondes qu'il a signé à l'entraînement à Montréal, jeudi dernier.

"Le plus important, c'est que je n'ai pas ressenti de douleur à la jambe droite", a-t-il dit.

Ralenti par les blessures cette année et détrôné par Pierre Brown à l'occasion des derniers championnats canadiens, Macrozonaris ne se berce pas d'illusions avant de courir dans son pays d'origine.

"Je connais une année difficile en raison surtout des blessures qui m'ont incommodé. Je manque d'entraînements de vitesse et je vais faire du rattrapage à ce chapitre au cours des prochains jours."

Actuellement, il pense qu'il pourrait faire un temps de 10,10 sur la piste rapide du stade d'Athènes, un temps insuffisant cependant pour monter sur le podium puisque le 100 mètres devrait être couru sous les 10 secondes, argue-t-il.

La paix avec Gilbert

Il estime que ses chances de gagner une médaille sont nettement meilleures au relais que dans l'épreuve individuelle. Il s'est dit prêt à travailler en équipe, sous la férule de Gilbert.

Aux championnats du monde d'athlétisme à Paris l'an dernier, Macrozonaris avait été exclu de l'équipe de relais parce qu'il exigeait qu'on l'utilise comme dernier coureur.

Admettant ses torts, Macrozonaris a mentionné avoir fait la paix avec Gilbert et tourné la page sur ce déplorable incident.

"Nous allons faire en sorte que ça fonctionne cette année parce que l'objectif est de regrouper les quatre gars les plus rapides pour tenter de remporter une médaille."

A Paris, le Canada était passé à un centième de seconde d'atteindre la finale, sans Macrozonaris.

L'équipe canadienne se trouve déjà en Italie, où elle a commencé l'entraînement, ce que ne savaient pas Macrozonaris et son conseiller Bruny Surin. Mauvais présage? On ne le croit pas.

Surin a fait remarquer que Macrozonaris est plus tendu depuis quelque temps parce qu'il est hanté par la crainte de décevoir les Canadiens et les Grecs.

"Il doit relaxer davantage. La pression est forte sur lui, les attentes sont élevées, a-t-il souligné. S'il arrive à se détendre sur la piste, j'estime qu'il peut courir en 9,9 secondes. Il doit améliorer ses départs et ses fins de courses. Il est trop crispé dans les derniers mètres."

Macrozonaris a dit qu'il ne pourra pas décrire avec des mots quels sentiments l'animeront quand il fera sa rentrée dans le stade, la semaine prochaine.

"Ici, je n'ai pas besoin de montrer mon passeport pour prouver que je suis de nationalité grecque. Avec un nom comme Macrozonaris, les gens le savent. Je suis un compétiteur. Je veux bien faire en Grèce", a-t-il résumé.

ROB LONGLEY, SUN MEDIA

August 12, 2004

ATHENS -- Nic Macrozonaris was an eight-year-old kid when Canadian Ben Johnson tested positive in Seoul, too young to grasp the Olympic story that rocked a nation. Now that he is an Olympian himself, the sprinter from Laval, Que., doesn't get the fact that athletes still use drugs.

"I didn't understand," Macrozonaris said of the scandal of the 1988 Seoul Games. "I heard he took drugs ... all I knew was that Ben Johnson got into trouble."

Now that he has been the subject of rigid drug testing himself, Macrozonaris hopes today's athletes will get nailed.

"There are always going to be cheaters but, in the long run, the winners are going to be the ones who stay clean," Macrozonaris said. "I cannot imagine how tough it would be to always be on the run, always on the lookout. I can only control the things around me. I cannot control the weather or what the people are doing next to me."

Last week, Macrozonaris was one of the first Canadians to be subjected to a blood test. These Games are the first where athletes will be tested for both urine and blood, which is considered a huge threat to cheaters.

"I felt like a guinea pig," Macrozonaris said.

Macrozonaris's agent and another former Canadian Olympian, Bruny Surin, isn't convinced the BALCO scandal in the U.S. and the efforts of the World Anti-Doping Agency suddenly will make the sporting world a cleaner place.

"Even with this scandal, people are still going to try to take that stuff," Surin said. "I was so frustrated because athletes were coming from nowhere and running faster. It got to the point of, whatever, if they want to do it and have a heart attack at 40 years old, then no problem."

As for Macrozonaris, Surin believes he has the ability to be the first white man to run the 100 faster than 10 seconds.

"I raced him a couple of years back and I beat him only by one-tenth of a second and he was running technically very weak," Surin said yesterday. "I just told him, 'If you do your proper training and believe in yourself, you can do it.' "

Μπορεί να αγωνίζεται με τα χρώματα του Καναδά, αλλά η Ελλάδα είναι μέσα στην καρδιά του. Ο λόγος για το Νικόλα Μακροζωνάρη, τον 24χρονο σπρίντερ που έχει γεννηθεί στο Κεμπέκ, αλλά η καταγωγή του είναι ελληνική. Ο Μακροζωνάρης είναι αυτή τη στιγμή ο κορυφαίος «κατοστάρης» στον Καναδά και φιλοδοξία του είναι να γνωρίσει τη μεγάλη διάκριση στους Ολυμπιακούς Αγώνες της Αθήνας. Σε συνέντευξη τύπου της χορηγού εταιρείας του αθλητή, ο Μακροζωνάρης μίλησε για την ελληνική καταγωγή του, για τους Ολυμπιακούς Αγώνες και για τους στόχους που έχει θέσει στη διοργάνωση.

«Ελληνικά μου έμαθε η γιαγιά μου και τώρα τα μιλώ με τον πατέρα μου. Φέτος ήταν μια δύσκολη χρονιά για μένα αφού αντιμετώπισα ένα πρόβλημα τραυματισμού στον τένοντα του ποδιού. Εκανα φυσιοθεραπεία και πλέον είμαι καλά. Είμαι χαρούμενος που βρίσκομαι εδώ και θα αγωνιστώ μπροστά στο ελληνικό κοινό, αλλά και την οικογένειά μου, που χάρη στους χορηγούς, θα έρθουν στην Ελλάδα για να μου συμπαρασταθούν», είπε ο Καναδός σπρίντερ και συμπλήρωσε: «Πιστεύω ότι οι Ελληνες φίλαθλοι θα με υποστηρίξουν και φυσικά μου αρέσει που θα αγωνιστώ σε ένα γεμάτο στάδιο, όπως θα είναι το ΟΑΚΑ. Στις 22 Αυγούστου, που είναι ο τελικός των 100μ, έχω τα γενέθλιά μου και θα ήθελα να τα γιορτάσω με την είσοδό μου στον τελικό. Φιλοδοξώ ότι θα είμαι στους οκτώ», πρόσθεσε ο Μακροζωνάρης, μάνατζερ του οποίου είναι ο διάσημος παλιός σπρίντερ, Μπρούνι Σουρίν. Συνεχίζοντας τις δηλώσεις του, αναφέρθηκε και πάλι στον τραυματισμό του: «Λόγω του τραυματισμού μου δεν συμμετείχα φέτος σε πολλά μίτινγκ, όπως στα Τσικλητήρια και άλλα που είχα πρόσκληση, αλλά πρόλαβα μόνο τα Παπαφλέσσεια στην Καλαμάτα. Πλέον όμως είμαι καλά και γι' αυτό είμαι ευχαριστημένος. Πρόσφατα σε μίτινγκ στον Καναδά έκανα 10.24 και σταδιακά ανεβάζω τις επιδόσεις μου. Αλλωστε, σαν χαρακτήρας, μου αρέσει η πρόοδος και να πηγαίνω συνεχώς καλύτερα. Αν περάσω στον τελικό θα πανηγυρίσω και με τις δύο σημαίες, της Ελλάδας αλλά και του Καναδά», κατέληξε ο νεαρός Ελληνοκαναδός.

courtesy: Flash.gr

Lori Ewing, posted August 11 @ 13:36, EST

ATHENS (CP) - At 7 a.m. last Saturday, Canadian anti-doping officials showed up at Nicolas Macrozonaris's door at his home in Laval, Que., demanding blood and urine samples.

The sprinter wasn't surprised to see them, nor did he mind all that much. In track and field these days, a cloud of suspicion follows athletes seemingly everywhere. "I like to say we're role models for the rest of the world in Canada. We get tested constantly and we don't complain about it," said Macrozonaris, who figures he's been tested five times over the last few weeks.

"I was also the first athlete in Canada that got tested by blood. I kind of felt like a guinea pig, because they were all going through the papers to look at the procedures of what to do with my blood."

Athens is the first Olympic Games where athletes will undergo blood testing as well as urine testing, a huge step forward for the anti-doping movement. According to the Canadian Olympic Committee, two other Canadian athletes have undergone blood testing since their arrival in Athens.

Coupled with the fallout from the BALCO investigation in the U.S., and other advancements in testing methods, anti-doping officials finally look like they have cheaters on the run, and many are predicting one of the most level playing fields in decades in Athens.

The results could be most noticeable in the sprints, including Macrozonaris's race - the 100 metres - where the 23-year-old predicts the field could be "cleaner than ever."

"There's always going to be cheaters in my sport, but in the long run, the winners are going to be those who stay clean," said Macrozonaris, who will also run in the 4x100 relay. "I cannot imagine how tough it would be to always be on the run."

Drug scandals have been the talk of track and field for the past several months, with a number of high-profile athletes testing positive, and other athletes raising eyebrows with their sub-par performances. American sprint stars Tim Montgomery, Marion Jones and Chryste Gaines failed to qualify for Athens in the 100 metres.

Montgomery and Gaines have been charged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency with steroid use, while Jones, a three-time Olympic champion, is under investigation but has not been charged.

Macrozonaris met with the media at a Reebok news conference in Athens on Wednesday, and didn't seem overly concerned about the swirling drug scandals.

"I can only control things around me and my actions," said Macrozonaris.

"I can only do my final rep or final sprint for the Olympics. I cannot control the rain, the weather, or what people do next to me in my race."

Macrozonaris was just eight when Ben Johnson tested positive and was stripped of his gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He'll turn 24 on Aug. 22, the day of the men's 100-metre final.

The Olympics won't be just a birthday party, but a return to his roots for Macrozonaris. His father Spiros emigrated from Greece, and he still has numerous family members here. One of his sponsors, The Bank of Cyprus, is paying to fly in his dad, mother Doris Morissette, and brother Alkis to watch his race.

At Wednesday's news conference, he addressed the media in English, French and Greek.

"The words cannot describe, I cannot describe what it's going to be like running in Greece in front of 100,000 people," said Macrozonaris. "You don't need a passport to see I'm Greek, the name Macrozonaris is Greek."

The Canadian sprinter has been hampered by an ankle injury and tendinitis this season, and says topping his 12th-place finish at the world championships last August would be a good result. He finished second behind Pierre Browne at the Canadian Olympic trials, but ran a decent 10.24 at a small meet in Montreal last week which bodes well for Athens.

"I did it pain-free and believe me, when I went to bed, I was tossing and turning like a little kid waiting for Santa Claus," Macrozonaris said with a grin.

Instead of travelling with the Canadian team to Grosseto, Italy, last weekend for a training camp, he stayed home to receive treatment. He will meet up with the team in Italy on Thursday.

The Canadian relay team will run an exhibition race Friday night against the Netherlands without Macrozonaris. Richard Adu-Bobie will take his place in the leadoff leg, with Anson Henry and Charles Allen running second and third and Browne running the anchor.

Macrozonaris ran headlong into controversy at the world championship last August in Paris when he demanded to run the anchor leg of the relay. His teammates weren't impressed - 100-metre rival Browne, in particular, was vocal in his criticism - and relay coach Glenroy Gilbert opted to leave Macrozonaris off the team.

Macrozonaris admits he was a "loose cannon" back then, and insists he's mended fences.

"I've learned to really communicate, talk better," said Macrozonaris. "Of course I made mistakes and I admit that. In life, there's always hot and cold, good and evil, maybe that day I was the evil.

"The main point is we recover from our mistakes, we redeem ourselves, and certainly we did that with the relay program. We discussed our differences and that's the past."

Macrozonaris says he'll be happy to run whatever leg he's assigned in Athens, but it will likely be the leadoff leg or third.

And any rivalry with Browne will only make the two better. The pair of sprinters got in a war of words again at the Olympic trials in Victoria last month after Browne called himself the "future of sprinting in Canada."

"No one's going to stay on top forever," said Macrozonaris. "One day, he's not going to have his day because 'X' will come up, whether it's me or Anson (Henry) or the new guy Richard (Adu-Bobie) and he's going to become Canadian champion. He's the next greatest sprinter for that year.

"He's a good sprinter, 10.13 is a solid time, and it's only going to make me better," he added. "If I run faster, he's only going to run faster, and the next thing you know, we have two guys running sub-10. I'm a humble guy. Losing is fine with me."

Nicolas ran the 100m in 10.24 seconds last night in his final tune-up race before leaving for Europe on Monday.

Following the race Nicolas indicated he felt no pain in his right leg, a very good indication that his meticulous and measured preparations to date are slowly but surely paying rich dividends.

What makes last night's run all the more impressive was his running at less then full throttle, a very good indication indeed of what we are hoping to see in Athens!

galako62904@yahoo.com 

Nicolas has been working very hard the past few weeks preparing for the Athens Games, both on the track and in the weight room, with regular visits to the clinic as well continuing treatment on his nagging right hamstring tendonitis problem.

He reports greatly improved speed workouts in the last few days as well as hitting new heights in his weight training. These workouts and treatments continue through this coming weekend in Montreal prior to his leaving for Athens on Monday August 9th.

This early Athens trip will bring two well deserved days off, but the R&R will be short-lived.  After attending a Reebok press conference at the Reebok Centre in Glyfada on August 11th, Nicolas will join his Canadian teammates in Grossetto, Italy on the 12th.

Between arriving in Grossetto and the start of the 100m competition on August 21st, Nicolas will have 10 days to balance workouts, continued treatments and rest as he finalizes preparations and focuses on the first of what we hope will be four rounds of the 100m.  Every hour of preparations during those 10 days will be critical in light of his injury plagued season, but he is on track to be at his best for this historic return of the Olympic Games to their, and his, ancestral homeland.

Following his individual event Nicolas will focus his energies on the 4x100m relay, with the semi-finals and final in that event scheduled for Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28, respectively.  

As a final comment on the relay, Nicolas has stated on numerous occasions that he is prepared and willing to run any relay position asked of him by Coach Glenroy Gilbert.  He has demonstrated his commitment to the relay program all season long by attending all required team training camps and competitions, and is looking forward to working with his relay teammates in Athens.

galako62904@yahoo.com