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"2000 Olympics"
September 16, 2000
Rebecca Arthur
On September 15, 2000, people around the world turned on their television sets and tuned into the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games. At the official site of the 2000 Summer Olympics (http://www.olympics.com/eng/) you can watch and read about the Olympics twenty-four hours a day.
This site offers interesting information and fun games for both children and adults. For example, did you know that the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch relay is the longest torch relay in Olympic history? The torch will travel to all the states and capital cities over one hundred days and visit more than one hundred and eighty towns. A scuba diver will also carry the torch underwater at the Great Barrier Reef.
The site also offers information about the countries attending the Olympics, the athletes, and the sports. You can learn about the history of any sport being played at the Olympics, the rules, and who has qualified to compete in them at Sydney. On the athlete's page, you can select a profile, and read about a contender who has set their sights on Sydney. Canadian Donovan Bailey can be found on the list of eight all-time great 100-metre sprinters.
Another Olympic site can be found at http://www.museum.olympic.org/. It is an online Olympic museum. At this site there are both temporary and permanent exhibitions. The temporary exhibition is made up of excerpts from the promotional campaign "Celebrate Humanity," displayed in a virtual gallery. The permanent exhibition displays Olympic athletes, equipment, torches, and more. The Montreal Olympic Torch is displayed at the permanent exhibition. Did you know a few days after the flame had been lit at the Montreal Olympics a drenching rainstorm extinguished the sacred flame? Only very briefly, however. An official with a cigarette lighter was nearby and the flame sprang forth once more. Sacrilege! Fortunately the organizers had kept a reserve flame, originating at Olympia, burning in case of an accident, and the "impure" fire was soon extinguished and replaced by a genuine Olympic flame!
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