THE S.I. OLYMPIC HANDBOOK

WHO will win
WHY they'll win
WHAT to watch for
WHEN to watch it

INCLUDING,

Fräulein Doktor V's lead-pipe-cinch, bet-the-house-and-the-farm, you-gotta-believe (though you've never heard of this woman, who in only mild overstatement has been called the Brigitte Bardot of her sport) special gold medal selection:

AND THE WINNER IS....

SI's redoubtable Olympic prognosticator picks the Summer Games medalists two ways: who will excel in L.A. (listed, gold medalist first, under the name of each event), and who would have shone had Soviet bloc nations not boycotted. Absentees who figured to medal are denoted by (G) for gold, (S) for silver and (B) for bronze. Note: Two bronzes are awarded in boxing and judo events.

ARCHERY Men

DARRELL PACE (U.S.A.)
RICK McKINNEY (U.S.A.)
TOMI POIKOLAINEN (Finland)

Watch for Pace, the 76 Olympic champ, to get a jump on McKinney and try to stay ahead—as he did in the U.S. trials—because he shoots better when pushed from behind. McKinney, though, thrives on playing catch-up. Dark horse: Glenn Meyers of the U.S.

ARCHERY Women

KIM JIN HO (S. Korea)
KIM MI YOUNG (S. Korea)
RUTH ROWE (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Natalya Butuzova, U.S.S.R. (S). In a sport in which tall and thin is ideal, the stocky Korean women make up for the ballistic advantage other archers have with an exceptionally fluid style and superb concentration. Still, Rowe could do better than bronze.

BASKETBALL Men

U.S.A.
ITALY
YUGOSLAVIA

Absentee: U.S.S.R. (S). The U.S. hopes to get blocked shots from Patrick Ewing and steals from the likes of Michael Jordan—in short, offense from its defense. If that doesn't happen, especially against Italy, Yugoslavia and dark horse Spain, America could be upset.

BASKETBALL Women

U.S.A.
CHINA
CANADA

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), Bulgaria (B). China has 6'9" Chen Yuefang and 6'7" Zheng Haixia, but after years of facing 7'2" Uliana Semenova of the U.S.S.R., the U.S. won't be fazed. In fact, America's star forward, Cheryl Miller, et al., might have upset the Soviets.

BOXING 106 pounds

PAUL GONZALES (U.S.A.)
KIM KWANG SUN (S. Korea)
HECTOR DIAZ (Dominican Rep.)
SAL TODISCO (Italy)

Absentees: Rafael Sainz, Cuba (S), Ismael Mustafov, Bulgaria (B). Gonzales, who has a 28-5 record in major fights, is rangy and sharp—his most impressive weapon is his right hand—and the gold medal should be his, if he will box and not put on his macho-man act.

BOXING 112 pounds

STEVE McCRORY (U.S.A.)
LAUREANO RAMIREZ (Dominican Rep.)
KAZUHIKO ABE (Japan)
CONSTANTIN TITOIU (Romania)

Absentees: Pedro Reyes, Cuba (S), Peter Lessov, Bulgaria (B), Janos Varadi, Hungary (B). McCrory, brother of WBC welterweight champ Milton, is a clever boxer who moves quickly in and out, rather than just wading in and whaling away. He's a hard hitter, too.

BOXING 119 pounds

ROBERT SHANNON (U.S.A.)
MAURIZIO STECCA (Italy)
SAMI BUZOLI (Yugoslavia)
MANUEL VILCHEZ (Venezuela)

Shannon, 21, is the only U.S. boxer who was a member of the 1980 Olympic team, at 106 pounds. He's an undisciplined fighter, but he has power in both hands. He made this year's team by knocking out world champ Floyd Favors, which was no small accomplishment.

BOXING 125 pounds

MELDRICK TAYLOR (U.S.A.)
GIUSEPPE FERRACUTI (Italy)
CELSO ESPINOZA (Argentina)
ABRAHAM MIESES (Dominican Rep.)

Absentees: Adolfo Horta, Cuba (G), Serik Nurkazov, U.S.S.R. (S). The 17-year-old Taylor, who has a 95-4 record and is ranked seventh in the world, is a tough Philadelphia fighter, a nonstop puncher who spars with his brother Myron, a pro featherweight.

BOXING 132 pounds

PERNELL WHITAKER (U.S.A.)
JUN CHIL SUNG (S. Korea)
ANGEL BELTRES (Dominican Rep.)
HERNAN GITIERREZ (Colombia)

Absentee: Ramon Goire, Cuba (S). The lefthanded Whitaker was, aside from 147-pounder Mark Breland, the most impressive boxer in the U.S. trials. He's most effective as a counterpuncher, a style that's often a liability in amateur boxing. Still, he thrives on it.

BOXING 139 pounds

JERRY PAGE (U.S.A.)
KIM DONG KIL (S. Korea)
SHADRACH ODIAMBO (Sweden)
TAWEE UMPORMANA (Thailand)

Absentees: Carlos Garcia, Cuba (G), Vasily Shishkov, U.S.S.R. (B). Page had left knee surgery in December. He has had only five fights this year and lost one to Tim Rabon at the U.S. trials, but he came back to beat Rabon twice. The question: Will his knee hold up?

BOXING 147 pounds

MARK BRELAND (U.S.A.)
LUCIANO BRUNO (Italy)
CHUNG YONG BEON (S. Korea)
ROLAND OMORUYI (Nigeria)

Absentees: Serik Konakbaev, U.S.S.R. (S), Candelario Duvergel, Cuba (B). Breland is so loose and willowy that it's all but impossible to hit him solidly. Like a puma, he only moves when he has to, but when he does, he's lightning fast. Watch for his vaunted right hand.

BOXING 156 pounds

SHAWN O'SULLIVAN (Canada)
FRANK TATE (U.S.A.)
ROMOLO CASAMONICA (Italy)
HECTOR ORTIZ (Puerto Rico)

Absentee: Valery Laptev, U.S.S.R. (B). Tate beat O'Sullivan earlier this year, but the Canadian had the flu then. O'Sullivan should triumph this time. His biggest failing is that he fights too hard and gets hit too much. He may wear himself down before the Olympic final.

BOXING 165 pounds

SHIN JOON SUP (S. Korea)
PEDRO VAN RAAMSDONK (Neth.)
DORU MARICESCU (Romania)
VIRGIL HILL (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Bernardo Comas, Cuba (G), Vladimir Melnyk, U.S.S.R. (B). Shin has beaten everybody in the world except the peerless Comas and is stronger than the tall and rangy southpaw, Van Raamsdonk, who's the smoother boxer. Shin's flaw: He's too cautious.

BOXING 178 pounds

EVANDER HOLYFIELD (U.S.A.)
PERO TADIĆ (Yugoslavia)
KHALIL ISMAIL (Iraq)
MIGUEL MOSNA (Argentina)

Absentees: Pablo Romero, Cuba (S), Vitaly Kotchanovsky, U.S.S.R. (B). Holyfield is 6'1" and rangy. His style is a lot like that of the legendary Ezzard Charles—he's very smooth, but not afraid to move in and slug. He has a good jab and can hit with either hand.

BOXING 201 pounds

WILLIE deWIT (Canada)
HENRY TILLMAN (U.S.A.)
LUIS CASTILLO (Ecuador)
ANGELO MUSONE (Italy)

Absentees: Aleksandr Yagubkin, U.S.S.R. (S), Aurelio Toyo, Cuba (B). DeWit always comes to fight. He relies heavily on the power of his right hand—but also keep an eye out for his left hook—and knocked out Toyo and outpointed Yagubkin last year.

BOXING Over 201 pounds

TYRELL BIGGS (U.S.A.)
FRANCESCO DAMIANI (Italy)
LENNOX LEWIS (Canada)
ISAAC BARINTO (Puerto Rico)

Absentee: Teofilo Stevenson, Cuba (B). Damiani is a strong, 230-pounder, but he doesn't have the speed and grace of the 6'5", 220-pound Biggs. Biggs doesn't have a big punch, but he has a terrific jab when he uses it—and he will have to if he wants to win.

KAYAK Men's 500

LARS-ERIK MOBERG (Sweden)
REINER SCHOLL (W. Ger.)
DANIELE SCARPA (Italy)

Absentees: Vladimir Parfenovich, U.S.S.R. (G), Andreas Stall, East Germany (B). Moberg has been injured of late, but he's expected to be ready for the Games in Los Angeles. He "hits" the water very hard by rotating his upper body more than other paddlers do.

KAYAK Men's 1,000

GREG BARTON (U.S.A.)
MILAN JANIĆ (Yugoslavia)
ALAN THOMPSON (N. Zealand)

Absentees: Rüdiger Helm, East Germany (G), Arturas Veta, U.S.S.R. (S). Barton, a 1980 Olympian who had to drop out of international competition for two years because of illness, is now hale. He's a very efficient paddler, who's especially strong over the last 500 meters.

KAYAK Men's pairs 500

FISHER/MORRIS (Canada)
FERGUSON/McDONALD (N. Zealand)
WEST/SHERIFF (Gr. Britain)

Absentees: Fischer/Wohllebe, East Germany (G), Parfenovich/Superata, U.S.S.R. (S). In this sprint, speed is all—technique be damned. No wonder neither Canada's nor Britain's pair cares much about style. Indeed, the British often lapse into an all-out thrash.

KAYAK Men's pairs 1,000

BIRLADEANU/GEANTA (Romania)
SUNDQUIST/ANDERSSON (Sweden)
HERVIEU/LEGRAS (France)

Absentees: Fischer/Wohllebe, East Germany (G), Parfenovich/Superata, U.S.S.R. (B). The Romanians will be ready after spending this year sequestered in a high altitude camp. The Swedes are slow starters who sprint very hard for the last 200 meters.

KAYAK Men's fours 1,000

ROMANIA
NEW ZEALAND
SWEDEN

Absentees: East Germany (S), U.S.S.R. (B). The Romanians will most likely enter the same finely trained unit that beat everybody at the world championships last year. Dark horse: Italy, which could get the bronze medal if the race is held in windless conditions.

KAYAK Women's 500

MARIA STEFAN (Romania)
ELIZABETH BLENCOWE (Australia)
AGNETHA ANDERSSON (Sweden)

Absentees: Birgit Fischer, East Germany (G), Vanja Gescheva, Bulgaria (S). Stefan has been trailing Fischer and Gescheva since '80 and won't let this chance slip away. Blencowe is an ex-swimmer whose coaches often wonder if she's going as fast as she could.

KAYAK Women's pairs 500

ANDERSSON/OLSSON (Sweden)
BORSANEA/BUHAEV (Romania)
SCH√úTTPELZ/IDEM (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Fischer/Kühn, East Germany (G). This should be tight between the Swedes and Romanians. Agnetha Andersson and Anna Olsson are fast starters and should beat Romania if they can hold on to their early lead. Dark horse: Turner/Dery of the U.S.

KAYAK Women's fours 500

ROMANIA
SWEDEN
WEST GERMANY

Absentees: East Germany (G), U.S.S.R. (S). Again the battle should be between Romania and Sweden. The Romanians have trained secretively—and no doubt well. Though the West Germans are powerful, they may be passed by the dark horse Americans.

CANADIAN SINGLES 500

COSTICA OLARU (Romania)
LARRY CAIN (Canada)
FRANK MANTHEY (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Ulrich Papke, East Germany (S), Anatoly Volkov, U.S.S.R. (B). Olaru, the world champ, is a stocky man with the ideal build for a sprinter, but he'll get some heat from Cain, a 6-footer who of late has worked as hard on the sprint as on the 1,000.

CANADIAN SINGLES 1,000

LARRY CAIN (Canada)
COSTICA OLARU (Romania)
ULRICH EICKE (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Vasily Beresa, U.S.S.R. (G), Jiri Vrdlovec, Czechoslovakia (B). The tireless Cain has applied himself diligently to his pacing, as well as his endurance. His long arms give him a strong stroke, but his biggest asset may be his head. He's a master tactician.

CANADIAN PAIRS 500

PATZAICHIN/SIMIONOV (Romania)
LJUBEK/NISOVIĆ (Yugoslavia)
FAUST/WIENAND (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Klementiev/Ossadtchiy, U.S.S.R. (B). This is the fifth Olympics for Ivan Patzaichin, who has won three golds and two silvers. The experts say he has great "boat sense" and, regardless of who his partner is, is a faster starter than anybody else.

CANADIAN PAIRS 1,000

LJUBEK/NISOVIĆ (Yugoslavia)
PATZAICHIN/SIMIONOV (Romania)
HOYER/RENAUD (France)

Another battle between Ivan Patzaichin and Matija Ljubek. Last September, the two played a tennis match during a regatta at the Olympic rowing venue. Says one observer, "They almost killed each other." Patzaichin's fast start is less significant here.

CYCLING 190-km road race

DAVIS PHINNEY (U.S.A.)
LARS WAHLQVIST (Sweden)
HANS DAAMS (Neth.)

Absentees: Olaf Ludwig, East Germany (G), Sergei Sukhoruchenkov, U.S.S.R. (S). There'll be 105 men at the start, and let's say there's a nine-man breakaway sprint at the end: If Phinney is one of those nine, he'll win because he's the best open-field sprinter alive.

CYCLING 79-km road race

CONNIE CARPENTER (U.S.A.)
MARIANNE BERGLUND (Sweden)
REBECCA TWIGG (U.S.A.)

Carpenter, who happens to be Mrs. Davis Phinney, should turn this first Olympic cycling event for women into the crowning victory of her illustrious career. Berglund typically closes fast, but the 1,400-meter downhill stretch leading to the finish may work against her.

CYCLING 1-km time trial

FREDY SCHMIDTKE (W. Ger.)
CRAIG ADAIR (New Zealand)
RORY O'REILLY (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Sergei Kopylov, U.S.S.R. (G), Lothar Thorns, East Germany (B). The world champ in 1982, Schmidtke has also won 22 national titles. His coach calls him "an athletic sunny boy" who loves a good party. After racing he prefers to recuperate in a disco.

CYCLING 4,000-meter individual pursuit

ROLF GÖLZ (W. Ger.)
ALEX STIEDA (Canada)
JURGEN PEDERSON (Denmark)

Absentee: Viktor Koupovets, U.S.S.R. (G). G√∂lz is nicknamed Turbo because he's so fast. He won his first national crown in 1981—while riding a borrowed bike. Dark horse: Steve Hegg of the U.S., who broke the American record in this event twice last fall.

CYCLING 4,000-meter team pursuit

WEST GERMANY
U.S.A.
ITALY

Absentees: East Germany (S), U.S.S.R. (B). The West Germans are the masters of this event, in which four teammates ride single file with the lead man changing every lap or half a lap. In the 1983 worlds, they clocked a near-record 4:16.62 in the preliminaries.

CYCLING Sprint

MARK GORSKI (U.S.A.)
GERHARD SCHELLER (W. Ger.)
KATSUO NAKATAKE (Japan)

Absentees: Lutz Hesslich, East Germany (G), Sergei Kopylov, U.S.S.R. (B). Gorski, who emerged as an international star in 1983, got into top gear at the right time. He has beaten Kopylov three times in the past year, and only Hesslich could have stopped him in L.A.

CYCLING 50-km points race

MICHAEL MARCUSSEN (Denmark)
MARK WHITEHEAD (U.S.A.)
ALEX STIEDA (Canada)

Absentee: Hans-Joachim Pohl, East Germany (S). This new Olympic race goes on for 150 laps at the velodrome, with two-man teams sprinting for points every 10 laps. Individuals, not teams, are awarded the medals. The nonpareil Marcussen is the prohibitive favorite.

CYCLING 100-km road team time trial

SWITZERLAND
THE NETHERLANDS
U.S.A.

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), East Germany (B). The Swiss team of Daniel Heggli, Othmar Häfliger, Heinz Imboden and Benno Wiss, which won a silver medal at last year's world championships, behind the Soviet Union, is the decided favorite for top honors this time.

DIVING Men's springboard

GREG LOUGANIS (U.S.A.)
TAN LIANGDE (China)
RON MERRIOTT (U.S.A.)

Only Louganis and Merriott will do a reverse 3½ somersault tuck, a dive with the highest degree of difficulty (3.5). Louganis has also changed his program so that all his voluntary dives are 3.0s or more. He's aiming to surpass his record total of 755.49 points.

DIVING Men's platform

GREG LOUGANIS (U.S.A.)
BRUCE KIMBALL (U.S.A.)
LI KONGZHENG (China)

Louganis's most spectacular dive is a reverse 3½ somersault tuck. He'll also do a back 3½, which will make his program—and that of Li, who has the same list—the most difficult in history. Louganis can't afford to blow a dive, because Kimball hardly ever "misses" one.

DIVING Women's springboard

KELLY McCORMICK (U.S.A.)
LI YIHUA (China)
CHRIS SEUFERT (U.S.A.)

The daughter of Pat McCormick, who won four gold medals in 1952 and '56, has an extra incentive: Her mother has promised her a Porsche if she wins in L.A. She finishes her dives higher than anybody else, which gives her time to stretch for a cleaner entry.

DIVING Women's platform

CHEN XIAOXIA (China)
WENDY WYLAND (U.S.A.)
MICHELE MITCHELL (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Alla Lobankina, U.S.S.R. (B). Chen should get mostly 10s for her inward 2½ pike, inward 1½ pike and reverse dive pike. Wyland will excel on her reverse dive pike and a reverse 2½ tuck. Chen is smoother and has better entries and a difficulty advantage.

EQUESTRIAN Individual 3-day event

LUCINDA GREEN (Gr. Britain)
MERVYN BENNETT (Australia)
BRUCE DAVIDSON (U.S.A.)

In this event, which includes jumping, dressage and cross-country, Green is the world champion. Her forte is cross-country. Bennett, who performs well in dressage, could make things tough for her. Ironically, Green rides Regal Realm, a horse sold to her by Bennett.

EQUESTRIAN Team 3-day event

GREAT BRITAIN
U.S.A.
AUSTRALIA

With Lucinda Green, Virginia Holgate, Diana Clapham and Robert Lemieux, the British team has the best riders. Only the top three scores count. The American foursome is Bruce Davidson, Torrance Watkins Fleischmann, J. Michael Plumb and Karen Stives.

EQUESTRIAN Individual dressage

REINER KLIMKE (W. Ger.)
ANNE-GRETHE JENSEN (Denmark)
UWE SCHULTEN-BAUMER (W. Ger.)

Herr Doktor Klimke, a lawyer, has won them all—European, world and Olympic (team) titles, and this year he's riding an outstanding horse, Ahlerich. Jensen is the current European champion, but her mount, Marzog, hasn't been performing all that well of late.

EQUESTRIAN Team dressage

WEST GERMANY
FRANCE
SWITZERLAND

The West Germans have such depth in dressage that they could field two gold medal teams. They have tradition, high standards and the most international judges in the sport. Dark horse: the U.S., with riders Robert Dover, Hilda Gurney and Sandy Pflueger-Clarke.

EQUESTRIAN Individual jumping

LESLIE BURR (U.S.A.)
PAUL SCHOCKEMÖHLE (W. Ger.)
MARIO DESLAURIERS (Canada)

Schockemöhle won the prestigious Grand Prix of Aachen in June and has the best record in recent years, but Burr won two U.S. trials events, which nobody else did, and she's tough. Last winter she won the AGA Rider of the Year competition despite a broken collarbone.

EQUESTRIAN Team jumping

U.S.A.
WEST GERMANY
CANADA

The U.S. has been one of the strongest countries in this event for 20 years. In addition, the Americans have a decided home court advantage: The Olympic courses at the Santa Anita venue will be laid out by a former U.S. team coach, Bertalan de Nemethy.

FENCING Men's foil

MAURO NUMA (Italy)
MATHIAS GEY (W. Ger.)
PHILIPPE OMNES (France)

Absentee: Aleksandr Romankov, U.S.S.R. (S). Numa, though only 22 in a sport in which experience is vital, has beaten everybody over the past few years. He's not only graceful and athletic but also has the stamina to withstand the rigors of the Olympic tournament.

FENCING Men's team foil

ITALY
WEST GERMANY
FRANCE

Absentees: East Germany (S), Cuba (B). The young Italians have greater depth than the West Germans. Note the favored teams' opposing styles: Italy gracefully darts in and out, while West Germany is very aggressive, moving to the attack and staying there.

FENCING Women's foil

DORINA VACCARONI (Italy)
CAROLA CICONETTI (Italy)
LUAN JUJIE (China)

Vaccaroni, 20, has attracted attention at tournaments since she was 14—first as a beauty and then as a hard-nosed competitor. Her fingers are adorned with rings, her hair is beribboned. Never mind. "She fences like a man," says one admirer. "She's not afraid to attack."

FENCING Women's team foil

ITALY
WEST GERMANY
CHINA

Absentee: Hungary (B). With archrivals Vaccaroni and Ciconetti on their team, the Italians are virtually unbeatable. The cornerstone of the West German squad is 32-year-old Cornelia Hanisch, a 1976 Olympian who combines experience with superb conditioning.

ÉPÉE

EMAR BORRMANN (W. Ger.)
PHILIPPE RIBOUD (France)
DANIEL GIGER (Switzerland)

World champion Borrmann is a brilliant—and patient—defender. He will wait long into a bout for his opponent to come to him, and then he'll unleash a parry riposte, which means he'll fend off his rival's blade, return the attack and touch, all in the blink of an eye.

ÉPÉE Team

WEST GERMANY
FRANCE
ITALY

West Germany seems overwhelming: In addition to Borrmann, it boasts 1976 individual gold medalist and two-time world champion Alexander Pusch. Still, the French, led by Philippe Riboud's 16-2 performance, pulled off an upset in Moscow and could stun again.

SABER

GIANFRANCO DALLA BARBA (Italy)
JEAN-FRANÇOIS LAMOUR (France)
GIOVANNI SZALZO (Italy)

Absentees: Vassil Etropolski, Bulgaria (G), Hristo Etropolski, Bulgaria (B). The experienced Dalla Barba, who was second to Vassil—the better of the terrific Etropolski twins—in the 1983 world championships, is very intelligent and an excellent parry riposter.

SABER Team

ITALY
FRANCE
ROMANIA

Absentees: U.S.S.R (G), Hungary (S). The Italians should win, but the French will be more interesting to watch. They've switched to the Hungarian style, which stresses scoring with the edge rather than the tip of the blade. Expect some Errol Flynn-style slashing.

FIELD HOCKEY Men

AUSTRALIA
THE NETHERLANDS
PAKISTAN

Australia's captain, Dr. Rick Charlesworth, physician and member of Parliament, is one of the two best players in the world. The other is Holland's captain, center midfielder Ties Kruize. Charlesworth is an inside right who's noted for brilliant passing and deft stickwork.

FIELD HOCKEY Women

THE NETHERLANDS
CANADA
U.S.A.

The Dutch team's one flaw is that it plays only well enough to win. Canada is the narrowest of choices for the silver over the U.S. Players to watch: Fieke Boekhorst of Holland and Beth Anders of the U.S., who are considered the best penalty corner shooters in the world.

GYMNASTICS Men's all-around

LI NING (China)
TONG FEI (China)
MITCH GAYLORD (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Dimitri Bilozerchev, U.S.S.R. (G). The 21-year-old Li would have given Bilozerchev a run for his money. Li won an unprecedented six of seven golds at the World Cup two years ago. Since then, he has beefed up his routines. Dark horse: Xu Zhiqiang of China.

GYMNASTICS Men's team

CHINA
U.S.A.
JAPAN

Absentee: U.S.S.R. (S). With Li Ning, Tong Fei, Xu Zhiqiang and Lou Yun, the Chinese are, in a word, unbeatable. The U.S. has better depth than Japan, and American gymnasts do more difficult moves on the pommel horse and have better dismounts from the rings.

GYMNASTICS Men's floor exercise

LI NING (China)
TONG FEI (China)
JIM HARTUNG (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Dimitri Bilozerchev, U.S.S.R. (B). Li's best stunt is a double somersault with a double twist that few gymnasts can do; in fact, it's tough to do off a diving board. Hartung will dazzle with a twisting triple back somersault and a double twisting back somersault.

GYMNASTICS Pommel horse

LI XIAOPING (China)
TIM DAGGETT (U.S.A.)
PETER VIDMAR (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Dimitri Bilozerchev, U.S.S.R. (S). Watch for the favorites' strengths: Li's amplitude means he has an unusually wide swing; Daggett's power is evident in his dynamic style; Vidmar's elegance, which is maintained even while he executes his difficult routine.

GYMNASTICS Rings

LI NING (China)
KOJI GUSHIKEN (Japan)
MITCH GAYLORD (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Dimitri Bilozerchev, U.S.S.R. (B). Li is the only gymnast who does a full German giant, normally a horizontal bar stunt, on the rings. He also does a triple back somersault dismount and may need it to keep ahead of Gaylord, who does that dismount well.

GYMNASTICS Men's vault

LOU YUN (China)
LI NING (China)
KYOJI YAMAWAKI (Japan)

Absentee: Artur Akopian, U.S.S.R. (G). A small man with very stocky legs, Lou does a rare handspring front somersault with 1½ twists. He explodes off the horse, reaching unusual height and distance. No one, not even Akopian, can match the duration of his postflight.

GYMNASTICS Parallel bars

KOJI GUSHIKEN (Japan)
LOU YUN (China)
BART CONNER (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Vladimir Artemov, U.S.S.R. (S). Gushiken is exceptionally smooth as he executes his difficult and diverse routine. His most unusual move is a giant swing with one half turn, flipping over to an upper-arm position. His only significant weakness is his dismount.

GYMNASTICS Horizontal bar

MITCH GAYLORD (U.S.A.)
SHINJI MORISUE (Japan)
PETER VIDMAR (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Aleksandr Pogorelov, U.S.S.R. (G), Dimitri Bilozerchev, U.S.S.R. (S). Watch for Gaylord Flip II, a 1½ flip over the bar with a half twist. Gaylord also plans to end with a triple somersault dismount, which, if he gets it down pat, will be a sight to behold.

GYMNASTICS Women's all-around

ECATERINA SZABO (Romania)
MARY LOU RETTON (U.S.A.)
LAVINIA AGACHE (Romania)

Absentees: Natalya Yurchenko, U.S.S.R. (G), Olga Mostepanova, U.S.S.R. (S). The Romanians used to be coached by Bela Karolyi; Retton is now guided by him. And Szabo and Retton are remarkably similar; both are stocky, powerful, exciting and excitable.

GYMNASTICS Women's team

ROMANIA
U.S.A.
CHINA

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), East Germany (B). The Chinese finished ahead of the U.S. in the 1983 world championships (5th place to 7th), but the American contingent was without Mary Lou Retton and Dianne Durham, and Julianne McNamara wasn't her peppy self.

GYMNASTICS Women's vault

MARY LOU RETTON (U.S.A.)
ECATERINA SZABO (Romania)
LAVINIA AGACHE (Romania)

Absentee: Natalya Yurchenko, U.S.S.R. (S). Retton's version of the compulsory vault, a handspring with a full twist in the postflight, is the longest extant. Her clincher in the optionals is a back somersault in the layout position with a full twist (see diagram, page 466).

GYMNASTICS Uneven bars

JULIANNE McNAMARA (U.S.A.)
MA YANHONG (China)
ECATERINA SZABO (Romania)

Absentee: Maxi Gnauck, East Germany (G). McNamara's spectacular opener, the McNamara Mount, involves a free-hip circle with a half turn in the handstand portion of the circle, followed by a downswing with a reverse grip and then a reverse Hecht. Dynamite!

GYMNASTICS Balance beam

MA YANHONG (China)
LAVINIA AGACHE (Romania)
PAM BILECK (U.S.A)

Absentee: Olga Mostepanova, U.S.S.R. (G). This event is difficult to predict because nobody has dominated it since Nadia Comaneci left the scene. The nod goes to Ma, because nobody will do risky moves in L.A., and she's the most graceful at executing standard stuff.

GYMNASTICS Women's floor exercise

MARY LOU RETTON (U.S.A.)
ECATERINA SZABO (Romania)
LAVINIA AGACHE (Romania)

Absentee: Olga Mostepanova, U.S.S.R. (B). Szabo is the world champion, but Retton will surpass her with her unbelievably difficult tumbling. Here's her first pass: a double layout with a back somersault and a full twist. This is followed by another double layout.

GYMNASTICS Rhythmic

REGINA WEBER (W. Ger.)
DOINA STAICULESCU (Romania)
MARTA BOBO (Spain)

Absentees: Diliana Gueorguieva, Bulgaria (G), Anelia Ralenkova, Bulgaria (S), Galina Beloglazova, U.S.S.R. (B). Weber is the most elegant. She's noted for her speed, dancing, flexibility and very difficult moves—not to mention her green eyes and long legs.

HANDBALL Men

ROMANIA
DENMARK
YUGOSLAVIA

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), East Germany (S). The most exciting game will be during the Group A preliminaries, when Romania's Vasile Stinga goes against Yugoslavia's Veselin Vujović. They're the best left backs in the tournament and their teams' leading scorers.

HANDBALL Women

YUGOSLAVIA
SOUTH KOREA
CHINA

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), East Germany (S). Yugoslavia has a perfect combination in the backcourt: fleet and elegant Yasna Merdan, nicknamed The Gazelle, and dynamic Svetlana Kitić, who has lost none of her power despite recently having been on maternity leave.

JUDO 132 pounds

KIM JAE YUP (S. Korea)
SHINJI HOSOKAWA (Japan)
GUY DELVINGT (France)
FELICI MARIANI (Italy)

Absentees: Khazret Tletseri, U.S.S.R. (G), Tàmàs Bujko, Hungary (S). Kim is only 19, but he has been practicing judo since he was in fourth grade. He's known for his dazzling speed, aggressive style and remarkable aptitude for throwing opponents over his shoulders.

JUDO 143 pounds

YOSHIYUKI MATSUOKA (Japan)
MARC ALEXANDRE (France)
SANDRO ROZATI (Italy)
CRAIG AGENA (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Nikolai Solodukhin, U.S.S.R. (G), Janush Pavlovski, Poland (S). Japan has hordes of top-notch competitors in this weight class, but finally, at 27, Matsuoka has emerged at the top of the list. His favorite maneuvers are left and right shoulder throws.

JUDO 156 pounds

HIDETOSHI NAKANISHI (Japan)
SERGEI DYOT (France)
STEFFEN STRANZ (W. Ger.)
MIKE SWAIN (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Tomazi Namgalauri, U.S.S.R. (S). World champion Nakanishi is known for his fighting spirit even in his own country, which has an abundance of aggressive players. His No. 1 asset is his stamina. Opponents would be well advised to get ahead of him early.

JUDO 172 pounds

NEIL ADAMS (Gr. Britain)
HIROMITSU TAKANO (Japan)
MIRCEA FRATICA (Rumania)
MICHEL NOVAK (France)

Absentee: Shota Khabareli, U.S.S.R. (B). Adams, a silver medalist in 1980, has more experience than Takano. He avoids competing against the Japanese so that they can't study him closely. His forte is his grappling technique; his arm bar is nothing short of superb.

JUDO 189 pounds

FABIEN CANU (France)
PETER SEISENBACHER (Austria)
SEIKI NOSE (Japan)
ROBERT BERLAND (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Detlef Ultch, East Germany (G). Canu has defeated Nose twice, but Seisenbacher, who has narrowly beaten Canu, or Berland could upset. Still, this is France's only chance to win a judo gold medal, and Canu is both a good technician and an aggressive player.

JUDO 209 pounds

ROBERT VAN DE WALLE (Belgium)
G√úNTER NEUREUTHER (W. Ger.)
HA HYUNG JU (S. Korea)
LEO WHITE (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Andreas Preschel, East Germany (S), Valery Divisenko, U.S.S.R. (B). Van de Walle, the gold medalist in 1980, is perhaps the most adept technician outside Japan. He has a very strong foot technique, is quick with his sweep and is unusually deceptive.

JUDO Over 209 pounds

YASUHIRO YAMASHITA (Japan)
WILLI WILHELM (Neth.)
LAURENT DEL COLOMBO (France)
MIHAI CIOC (Romania)

Absentees: Henry Stohr, East Germany (S), Khabil Biktashev, U.S.S.R. (B). Yamashita would also be the favorite in the open category, but he isn't allowed to compete in two divisions. He's expected to choose the tougher one, because nobody can beat him anyway.

JUDO Open

HITOSHI SAITO (Japan)
ANGELO PARISI (France)
MOHAMED ALI RASHWAN (Egypt)
AXEL VON DER GROEBEN (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Vladimir Kocman, Czechoslovakia (B), Andras Ozsvar, Hungary (B). Despite his 320 pounds, Saito is very limber and quick. He has an excellent body-drop throw, inner-thigh throw and inner-leg reap. Were it not for Yamashita, Saito would be the king of his sport.

MODERN PENTATHLON

DANIELE MASALA (Italy)
JOEL BOUZOU (France)
CHRISTIAN SANDOW (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Anatoly Starostin, U.S.S.R. (G), Janusz Pyciak-Peciak, Poland (S), Tamàs Szombatheiyi, Hungary (B). Masala, who skipped the 1983 world championships amid rumors of steroid use, is the pick of this badly weakened field. Dark horse: Ivar Sisniega of Mexico.

MODERN PENTATHLON Team

FRANCE
WEST GERMANY
SWEDEN

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), Hungary (S). The French have Joel Bouzou and Paul Four, who have anchored the team for seven years, as well as Didier Boube. All are top fencers, which should give them a commanding lead after the second day of the four-day competition.

ROWING Men's single sculls

PERTTI KARPPINEN (Finland)
PETER-MICHAEL KOLBE (W. Ger.)
JOHN BIGLOW (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Uwe Mund, East Germany (B). Karppinen, the 1976 and '80 Olympic gold medalist, and Kolbe, the silver medalist in Montreal, have dominated sculling for a decade. The pick: the 6'7" Karppinen for his excellent endurance, developed by cross-country skiing.

ROWING Men's double sculls

THORSEN/HANSEN (Norway)
ENQUIST/LEWIS (U.S.A.)
STORM/MacGOWAN (Canada)

Absentees: Lange/Heppner, East Germany (S). Last year, when Alf Hansen stroked the Norwegian boat, he and Rolf Thorsen didn't do so well; with Thorsen stroking this year, they're faster. The U.S. crew, sixth in the 1983 worlds, is much improved, too.

ROWING Men's quadruple sculls

ITALY
WEST GERMANY
U.S.A.

Absentee: East Germany (G). Last year's world champ, West Germany, was beaten recently by Italy, which in turn was second to East Germany. The U.S. boat at that regatta was only a second behind the Italians, but it won't be in L.A., having lost in the U.S. trials.

ROWING Men's pairs with cox

ABBAGNALE/ABBAGNALE (Italy)
IVANCIĆ/CELENT (Yugoslavia)
WEITNAUER/SAILE (Switz.)

Absentees: Greiner/Diessner, East Germany (S), Naruschaitis/Maistrenko, U.S.S.R. (B). The Abbagnale brothers train on the Bay of Naples, where the water can get plenty rough. They'll be able to handle any condition the Olympic venue, Lake Casitas, might offer.

ROWING Men's pairs without cox

GREPPERUD/LOKEN (Norway)
HOEKSTRA/ADEMA (Neth.)
IOSUB/TOMA (Romania)

Absentees: Ertel/Sauerbrey, East Germany (G), Pereverzev/Kriutchkin, U.S.S.R. (S). Some pairs sprint early and pay for it. Not the Norwegians, who maintain a steady pace throughout the 2,000-meter race. They usually take the lead at about the 1,000 mark.

ROWING Men's fours with cox

NEW ZEALAND
GREAT BRITAIN
U.S.A.

Absentees: East Germany (S), U.S.S.R. (B). New Zealand's 1983 world champion crew in this event has switched to four without coxswain, but the new foursome with cox is considered to be every bit as good—and it certainly has a strong tradition to uphold.

ROWING Men's fours without cox

NEW ZEALAND
U.S.A.
ROMANIA

Absentee: U.S.S.R. (B). This should be an exciting race between the New Zealand crew that used to row with coxswain and the U.S. boat, which beat everyone in the prestigious Lucerne (Switz.) Regatta in June. And everybody was there—except mighty New Zealand.

ROWING Men's eights

NEW ZEALAND
U.S.A.
AUSTRALIA

Absentee: East Germany (B). New Zealand is the champ, but the U.S. boat of Chip Lubsen, Andy Sudduth, John Terwilliger, Chris Penny, Tom Darling, Fred Borchelt, Charles Clapp, Bruce Ibbetson and cox Bob Jaugstetter recently beat the top eights of Europe. It'll be close.

ROWING Women's single sculls

VALERIA RĂCILĂ-ROSCA (Romania)
ANDREA SCHREINER (Canada)
CARLIE GEER (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Cornelia Linse, East Germany (G). In the 1982 worlds, the athletic Răcilă-Rosca was beaten by an inch; in '83, she broke an oarlock on a buoy and capsized. This year she's going so strong, she might even have beaten Linse. Surely her bad luck has run out.

ROWING Women's double sculls

OLENIUC/TRASCA (Romania)
HELLEMANS/HELLEMANS (Neth.)
LAUMAN/LAUMAN (Canada)

Absentees: Schenk/Schröter, East Germany (G), Bratishko/Makhina, U.S.S.R. (B). The big, strong and fast Romanians take it to the front from the start and keep going. Dark horses: Judy Geer and Cathy Thaxton of the U.S., who have been together only since June.

ROWING Women's quadruple sculls

ROMANIA
WEST GERMANY
U.S.A.

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), East Germany (S). Romania's rowers spent most of this year at a high-altitude training camp in Snagov, and their conditioning shows it. Again they're favored because of their power—they get more distance on every stroke than other crews do.

ROWING Women's pairs

ARBA/HORVAT (Romania)
SMITH/CRAIG (Canada)
VAN ETTEKOVEN/CORNET (Neth.)

Absentees: Fröhlich/Gasch, East Germany (G). The Romanians finished second and the Canadians third to the East Germans at last year's world championships. Canada's pairing of Tricia Smith and Betsy Craig is long on experience and could upset Romania.

ROWING Women's fours

ROMANIA
CANADA
THE NETHERLANDS

Absentees: East Germany (G), U.S.S.R. (S). The Romanian four, runner-up in the 1983 world championships, was second only to East Germany again this year. This event should finish off Romania's sweep of all the women's races—except the eights.

ROWING Women's eights

U.S.A.
ROMANIA
CANADA

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (S), East Germany (B). The U.S. would've won had the Soviets showed up. In the past, the U.S.S.R. or East Germany would outdo America in the first 500 of the 1,000-meter race and hold on. The U.S. recently beat East Germany by getting ahead early.

SHOOTING Free pistol

RAGNAR SKAN√ÖKER (Sweden)
WANG YIFU (China)
PHILIPPE COLA (France)

Absentees: Aleksandr Melentev, U.S.S.R. (G), Sergei Sumatoshin, U.S.S.R. (S), Uwe Potteck, East Germany (B). This will be the fourth Olympics for Skanåker, 50, who won a gold medal in 1972. He has also won three world titles. He's known for his stoic calm.

SHOOTING Rapid-fire pistol

MARIN STAN (Romania)
OVE GUNNARSSON (Sweden)
ALFRED RADKE (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Igor Pusiriev, U.S.S.R. (G), Jürgen Wiefel, East Germany (S), Laszlo Orban, Hungary (B). The boycott gives Stan, whose previous best was a surprise second in the 1979 European championships, his first real shot at a gold in major international competition.

SHOOTING Trap

DAN CARLISLE (U.S.A.)
ELADIO VALLDUVI (Spain)
SILVANO BASAGNI (Italy)

Absentees: Aleksandr Asanov, U.S.S.R. (S), Jörg Damme, East Germany (B). Carlisle, a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Ga., holds the world mark, having hit 200 out of 200 targets. Last year he was second in the world championships.

SHOOTING Skeet

MATT DRYKE (U.S.A.)
BRUNO ROSSETTI (France)
OLE RIBER RASMUSSEN (Denmark)

Absentees: Jan Hula, Czechoslovakia (S), Tamaz Imnaishvili, U.S.S.R. (B). Dryke has held the world record (200 out of 200) since 1981. He has appeared on That's Incredible, shooting at small targets, such as pennies and aspirin tablets, with incredible accuracy.

SHOOTING Running game target

JEAN-LUC TRICOIRE (France)
HELMUT BELLINGRODT (Colombia)
RANDY STEWART (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Tibor Bod≈Ñar, Hungary (G), Yuri Kadenatsy, U.S.S.R. (S), Andràs Doleschall, Hungary (B). Bellingrodt, 38, has more experience—he got a silver in 1972—but Tricoire, 31, is a rising star. Dark horse: Bryan Wilson of Australia, who trains at Fort Benning, Ga.

SHOOTING Small-bore rifle, 3 positions

MALCOLM COOPER (Gr. Britain)
HARALD STENVAAG (Norway)
PETER HEINZ (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Viktor Vlasov, U.S.S.R. (G), Vladimir Lvov, U.S.S.R. (B). Of the three shooting positions—prone, standing and kneeling—Cooper is best in the standing, so he may well have an insurmountable lead by the end of the second stage of this event.

SHOOTING Small-bore rifle, prone

ED ETZEL (U.S.A.)
ALISTER ALLAN (Gr. Britain)
MAURI RÖPPÄNEN (Finland)

Absentees: Petur Zapianov, Bulgaria (G), Aleksandr Mitrofanov, U.S.S.R. (S), Viktor Vlasov, U.S.S.R. (B). Etzel is especially skilled at shooting in the sort of fluky winds that often freshen at the Olympic venue in Prado Park around 10 a.m. This event starts at 9.

SHOOTING Men's air rifle

HARALD STENVAAG (Norway)
PHILIPPE HEBERLE (France)
PIERRE ALAIN DUFAUX (Switzerland)

Absentees: Frank Rettkowski, East Germany (S), Yuri Zavolodkov, U.S.S.R. (B). Stenvaag holds the world record (593 out of 600), which is also his best this year. Obviously he has gotten hot since finishing fourth in the 1983 worlds. Dark horse: Glen Dubis of the U.S.

SHOOTING Sport pistol

MARIA MACOVEI (Romania)
WEN ZHIFANG (China)
EVELINE MANCHON (France)

Absentees: Marina Dobrancheva, U.S.S.R. (G), Elisabeta Karabolli, Albania (B). Macovei won last year's European championships with a score of 591, just one point less than the six-year-old world record. Dark horses: Kim Dyer and Ruby Fox of the U.S.

SHOOTING Standard rifle

WU XIAOXUAN (China)
SIGRID LANG (W. Ger.)
MIRJANA JOVOVIĆ (Yugoslavia)

Absentees: Marlies Helbig, East Germany (G), Nonka Matova, Bulgaria (S), Lesya Leskiv, U.S.S.R. (B). Wu leads the strong Chinese shooters. She was third at the pre-Olympic competition, two points behind winner Matova. Dark horse: Wanda Jewell of the U.S.

SHOOTING Women's air rifle

PAT SPURGIN (U.S.A.)
SILVIA SPERBER (W. Ger.)
SIRI LANDSEN (Norway)

Absentees: Marlies Helbig, East Germany (G), Kathrin Starkloff, East Germany (S). At 18, Spurgin is very young to be shooting in the Olympics, but she has the poise of a veteran. She finished second in standard rifle at Prado's pre-Olympics.

SOCCER

YUGOSLAVIA
FRANCE
ITALY

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), Czechoslovakia (S), East Germany (B). Coach Ivan Toplak of Yugoslavia got rid of the old "pros" who were last in the recent European championships and replaced them with young players led by whiz kid midfielder Dragan Stojkovic, 19.

SWIMMING Men's 100 freestyle

ROWDY GAINES (U.S.A.)
MIKE HEATH (U.S.A.)
ALBERTO MESTRE (Venezuela)

Absentee: Jörg Woithe, East Germany (S). If record holder Gaines doesn't go out too fast, as he tends to do, but swims a controlled race, the gold medal will be his, and University of Florida teammates Heath and Mestre will be left to battle for the next two spots.

SWIMMING Men's 200 freestyle

MICHAEL GROSS (W. Ger.)
MIKE HEATH (U.S.A.)
JEFF FLOAT (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Sven Lodziewski, East Germany (B). Gross swam a world record 1:47.55 this year. Heath won the U.S. trials in an American record 1:47.92. Nonetheless, expect Heath to lead early. In their record swims, Gross went out .2 slower and got home that .4 quicker.

SWIMMING Men's 400 freestyle

GEORGE DiCARLO (U.S.A.)
JOHN MYKKANEN (U.S.A.)
BORUT PETRIC (Yugoslavia)

Absentees: Vladimir Salnikov, U.S.S.R. (G), Sven Lodziewski, East Germany (B). DiCarlo set an American mark of 3:51.03 at the U.S. trials, which makes him the fastest among the participants. He has the speed to stay in front when Mykkanen makes his late charge.

SWIMMING 1,500 freestyle

GEORGE DiCARLO (U.S.A.)
MIKE O'BRIEN (U.S.A.)
DARJAN PETRIĆ (Yugoslavia)

Absentee: Vladimir Salnikov, U.S.S.R. (G). DiCarlo's American record of 15:01.51 is the fourth-fastest ever, behind Salnikov's world mark of 14:54.75. O'Brien won't beat DiCarlo, but he could make things interesting by pushing him to a sub-15-minute clocking.

SWIMMING Men's 100 backstroke

RICK CAREY (U.S.A.)
DAVE WILSON (U.S.A.)
MIKE WEST (Canada)

Absentee: Dirk Richter, East Germany (S). World-record holder Carey is the prohibitive favorite; he had the second-fastest time ever, in the U.S. trials, and declared he could do better. The battle will be between Wilson and West. Dark horse: Bengt Baron of Sweden.

SWIMMING Men's 200 backstroke

RICK CAREY (U.S.A.)
MIKE WEST (Canada)
JESSE VASSALLO (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Dirk Richter, East Germany (S). After going out a little slower than usual (58.52), Carey came home with a scintillating 30.44 50-meter split in the U.S. trials to establish a world record of 1:58.86. West has swum the second-fastest time this year, a 2:01.20.

SWIMMING Men's 100 breaststroke

STEVE LUNDQUIST (U.S.A.)
JOHN MOFFET (U.S.A.)
VICTOR DAVIS (Canada)

Absentee: Dmitri Volkov, U.S.S.R. (B). Moffet surpassed Lundquist's world record at the trials with a clocking of 1:02.13, but Lundquist likes to be the chaser rather than the chasee. Having the new record holder to go after will be tremendously motivating for him.

SWIMMING Men's 200 breaststroke

VICTOR DAVIS (Canada)
JOHN MOFFET (U.S.A.)
RICHARD SCHROEDER (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Dmitri Volkov, U.S.S.R. (B). Davis, who had mononucleosis last year, has made a remarkable recovery. At Canada's trials he set a world record of 2:14.58. Moffet was second to Schroeder in the U.S. trials, but he has international experience. Schroeder doesn't.

SWIMMING Men's 100 butterfly

PABLO MORALES (U.S.A.)
MATT GRIBBLE (U.S.A.)
MICHAEL GROSS (W. Ger.)

This will be some race among new world-record holder Morales (53.38), former world-record holder Gribble (53.44) and European record holder Gross (53.78), who's out to prove he's a great 100-fly man. Gribble has had back pains; if they subside, he'll be golden.

SWIMMING Men's 200 butterfly

MICHAEL GROSS (W. Ger.)
PABLO MORALES (U.S.A.)
RICARDO PRADO (Brazil)

World-record holder Gross (1:57.05) has the fastest time in the world this year (1:57.49). Morales won at the U.S. trials in 1:58.07. Gross can go out in less than 56 seconds and still maintain excellent speed through the final 100. Dark horse: Tom Ponting of Canada.

SWIMMING Men's 200 IM

ALEX BAUMANN (Canada)
GIOVANNI FRANCESCHI (Italy)
STEVE LUNDQUIST (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Jens-Peter Berndt, East Germany (B). Baumann holds the world record and has the best time this year (2:02.60). A good backstroker, he usually pulls even on the second leg; a great breaststroker, he usually pulls ahead to stay on the third leg.

SWIMMING Men's 400 IM

ALEX BAUMANN (Canada)
RICARDO PRADO (Brazil)
GIOVANNI FRANCESCHI (Italy)

Absentee: Jens-Peter Berndt, East Germany (B). Baumann set the world mark (4:17.53) by doing the breaststroke leg about two seconds faster than any other IM man can do it. He shouldn't have any trouble beating former world-record holder Prado and Franceschi.

SWIMMING Men's 4 X 100 free relay

U.S.A.
WEST GERMANY
AUSTRALIA

Absentee: U.S.S.R. (S). With Rowdy Gaines, Mike Heath, Chris Cavanaugh and Matt Biondi, the U.S. should go under the world mark of 3:19.26. In fact, because each of the four can swim his leg in the low 49s, they could lower the record by an astonishing amount.

SWIMMING 4 X 200 free relay

U.S.A.
WEST GERMANY
AUSTRALIA

West Germany holds the world record of 7:20.40 in this one—Gross's anchor leg of 1:47.21 was the fastest 200 ever swum. However, with the team of Mike Heath, Jeff Float, Bruce Hayes and David Larson, the U.S. could clock an extraordinary time, as low as 7:16.

SWIMMING Men's 4 X 100 medley relay

U.S.A.
WEST GERMANY
CANADA

Absentee: U.S.S.R. (S). The U.S. established the world record of 3:40.42 in 1983. This is the closing event on the Olympic swimming program, and the Americans who finish best in the individual races will be performing in the medley finals. Look for an easy U.S. win.

SWIMMING Women's 100 freestyle

NANCY HOGSHEAD (U.S.A.)
CARRIE STEINSEIFER (U.S.A.)
JUNE CROFT (Gr. Britain)

Absentees: Kristin Otto, East Germany (G), Birgit Meineke, East Germany (S). Hogshead, who used to concentrate on the 200 fly and IM, has also become a freestyle sprinter this year. And how: She has clocked a 55.99 and will be the fastest woman in the Games.

SWIMMING Women's 200 freestyle

CYNTHIA WOODHEAD (U.S.A.)
MARYWAYTE (U.S.A.)
JUNE CROFT (Gr. Britain)

Absentees: Kristin Otto, East Germany (G), Birgit Meineke, East Germany (S). Woodhead, an ex-world-record holder, is still the fastest American (1:58.23) and second-fastest ever behind Otto. Croft has a best of 1:59.74, but it's said she isn't tough enough to win.

SWIMMING Women's 400 freestyle

TIFFANY COHEN (U.S.A.)
KIM LINEHAN (U.S.A.)
SARAH HARDCASTLE (Gr. Britain)

Absentee: Astrid Strauss, East Germany (S). Cohen goes out hard and comes home easy. She gets the lead with her strong kick, slacks off in the third 100 (1:03.01 at the U.S. trials) and puts in a final 100 of, say, 1:02.5. At the trials she won in 4:08.73 to Linehan's 4:09.57.

SWIMMING 800 freestyle

TIFFANY COHEN (U.S.A.)
MICHELE RICHARDSON (U.S.A.)
SARAH HARDCASTLE (Gr. Britain)

Absentee: Astrid Strauss, East Germany (S). Cohen's time at the U.S. trials (8:28.08) is the best in the world this year. Cohen goes out a little faster; Richardson comes home a bit quicker. In fact, Richardson's edge in the second 400 could give her the gold medal.

SWIMMING Women's 100 backstroke

CARMEN BUNACIU (Romania)
ANCA PATRASCOIU (Romania)
BETSY MITCHELL (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Kristin Otto, East Germany (G), Ina Kleber, East Germany (S). This is it for Bunaciu, 22, who has never won a major international title because she has always been beaten by the East Germans. Patrascoiu, 16, has a best only .17 slower than Bunaciu's.

SWIMMING Women's 200 backstroke

ANCA PATRASCOIU (Romania)
CARMEN BUNACIU (Romania)
AMY WHITE (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Kathrin Zimmermann, East Germany (G), Kristin Otto, East Germany (S). Patrascoiu made sensational improvement from a 2:14.73 last year to a 2:12.16 this, and there's no telling how low she can go. Bunaciu's fastest time is 2:13.18, White's 2:14.41.

SWIMMING Women's 100 breaststroke

HIROKO NAGASAKI (Japan)
ANNE OTTENBRITE (Canada)
TRACY CAULKINS (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Ute Geweniger, East Germany (G), Sylvia Gerasch, East Germany (S). Like all Japanese breaststrokers, Nagasaki, 15, holds her head high and swims with long, fluid strokes. She has the best time this year (1:10.15) among those swimming in Los Angeles.

SWIMMING Women's 200 breaststroke

HIROKO NAGASAKI (Japan)
ANNE OTTENBRITE (Canada)
SUSAN RAPP (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Ute Geweniger, East Germany (G), Elena Volkova, U.S.S.R. (S). Nagasaki should dominate this event, in which she holds the U.S. open record of 2:29.91, set in the Olympic pool. She was Japan's wunderkind in 1980 when she made the Olympic team at 11.

SWIMMING Women's 100 butterfly

MARY T. MEAGHER (U.S.A.)
JENNA JOHNSON (U.S.A.)
ANNEMARIE VERSTAPPEN (Neth.)

Absentee: Ines Geissler, East Germany (B). World-record holder Meagher didn't win in the American trials; Johnson did, with a time of 59.08. But Meagher wasn't fully tapered for that meet, which will hardly be the case for the Olympics.

SWIMMING Women's 200 butterfly

MARY T. MEAGHER (U.S.A.)
NANCY HOGSHEAD (U.S.A.)
CONNY VAN BENTUM (Neth.)

Absentee: Ines Geissler, East Germany (S). Meagher is still undisputedly No. 1 here. She holds the world record of 2:05.96 and has the fastest time this year, 2:07.53. She's the current world champion, and she knows how to handle the pressure of the biggest meet of all.

SWIMMING Women's 200 IM

TRACY CAULKINS (U.S.A.)
NANCY HOGSHEAD (U.S.A.)
MICHELE MacPHERSON (Canada)

Absentee: Ute Geweniger, East Germany (G). Caulkins, 21, has the fastest time in the world this year; she swam an American record of 2:12.78 in the U.S. trials. While Hogshead is a monster on the butterfly and freestyle legs, Caulkins is uniformly strong in all strokes.

SWIMMING Women's 400 IM

TRACY CAULKINS (U.S.A.)
SUE HEON (U.S.A.)
KATRINE BOMSTAD (Norway)

Absentee: Kathleen Nord, East Germany (S). Again, Caulkins's time at the U.S. trials (4:41.72) is tops in the world this year, and it's her best in four years. Bomstad, who trains in California, will have to hold off dark horse Suzanne Landells of Australia for third.

SWIMMING Women's 4 X 100 free relay

U.S.A.
THE NETHERLANDS
CANADA

Absentee: East Germany (G). With Nancy Hogshead, Carrie Steinseifer, Jenna Johnson and Dara Torres, the U.S. has four sprinters who can do the 100 in 56.54 seconds or better. The two-year-old American record of 3:43.43 will in all likelihood be broken.

SWIMMING Women's 4 X 100 medley relay

U.S.A.
THE NETHERLANDS
WEST GERMANY

Absentee: East Germany (G). If all goes according to form, Betsy Mitchell (back) should lead off, followed by Tracy Caulkins (breast), Mary T. Meagher (fly) and Nancy Hogshead (free). Each should already have a medal and be going for another. Make it gold, for sure.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING Solo

TRACE RUIZ (U.S.A.)
SHARON HAMBROOK (Canada)
MIWAKO MOTOYOSHI (Japan)

Ruiz has won every international solo competition she has entered since 1980, including the world championships and Pan Am Games. She's dainty and shy out of the water, but in the pool she's a 5'4", 120-pound package of solid muscle and an uninhibited performer.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING Duet

RUIZ/COSTIE (U.S.A.)
HAMBROOK/KRYCZKA (Canada)
MOTOYOSHI/KIMURA (Japan)

The bubbly Candy Costie and the subdued Tracie Ruiz are a perfect match in size. The only time they've lost in major competition was in the 1982 worlds, where they finished second to Sharon Hambrook and Kelly Kryczka, who will again be their strongest competition.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 100

CARL LEWIS (U.S.A.)
RON BROWN (U.S.A.)
SAM GRADDY (U.S.A.)

Brown is the better starter, but Lewis, the overwhelming favorite, will catch up early in the race. Graddy won at the NCAAs and TACs and was second to Lewis in the U.S. trials, but Brown, who's about to embark on a pro football career, may be more highly motivated.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 200

CARL LEWIS (U.S.A.)
KIRK BAPTISTE (U.S.A.)
PIETRO MENNEA (Italy)

Lewis may not be leading by much off the turn, but he'll pour it on down the straightaway. Because this event comes after the 100 and the long jump, he may just go for broke and break Mennea's world record of 19.72, set five years ago in Mexico City's high altitude.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 4 X 100

U.S.A.
ITALY
GREAT BRITAIN

Absentee: East Germany (S). With Sam Graddy, Ron Brown, Calvin Smith and Carl Lewis, this combination is as good as the one that established a world record of 37.86 at last year's world championships in Helsinki. Smith and Lewis are repeaters from that unit.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 400

BERT CAMERON (Jamaica)
ANTONIO McKAY (U.S.A.)
ALONZO BABERS (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Viktor Markin, U.S.S.R. (B). Both Cameron and McKay are very strong finishers; watch them pull away in the stretch. Cameron, who is the world champion, lost only one race each in 1982 and '83, when McKay, who won the U.S. trials, wasn't even ranked.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 4 X 400

U.S.A.
WEST GERMANY
NIGERIA

Absentee: U.S.S.R. (B). The U.S. team will probably lead off with Sunder Nix, followed by Ray Armstead, Alonzo Babers and Antonio McKay, and should be in the lead all the way—unless someone falls down, as Willie Smith did in the 1983 world championships.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 800

SEBASTIAN COE (Gr. Britain)
JOAQUIM CRUZ (Brazil)
EARL JONES (U.S.A.)

Coe holds the world mark of 1:41.73, but he has never won an 800 in a big international meet. It's going to be fast from the start, with Cruz, Jones and Great Britain's Peter Elliott eager to set the pace. If Coe is fit, he'll outkick them all. Dark horse: Donato Sabia of Italy.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 1,500

STEVE CRAM (Gr. Britain)
STEVE OVETT (Gr. Britain)
JOSE ABASCAL (Spain)

It will be a tactical race with nobody wanting the early lead. Cram, a superb tactician, will take control on the third lap and, as in the European Cup and world championships, nobody may be close enough to outkick him off the final turn. Dark horse: Steve Scott of the U.S.

TRACK & FIELD Steeplechase

HENRY MARSH (U.S.A.)
PATRIZ ILG (W. Ger.)
JOSEPH MAHMOUD (France)

Absentee: Boguslaw Maminski, Poland (B). Marsh, who fouled in the 1981 World Cup and fell in the '83 world championships, should finally win a big one. His style—slowly working his way up from last place to take the lead off the last water jump—is risky, but effective.

TRACK & FIELD 5,000

SAID AOUITA (Morocco)
DOUG PADILLA (U.S.A.)
EAMONN MARTIN (Gr. Britain)

Absentees: Wodajo Bulti, Ethiopia (S), Dmitri Dmitriyev, U.S.S.R.(B). As these final pages went to press, Eamonn Coghlan of Ireland was knocked from the Games by a stress fracture of his right leg. Aouita is now favored because he has the fastest time of the year, 13:04.78.

TRACK & FIELD 10,000

ALBERTO COVA (Italy)
MARTTI VAINIO (Finland)
FERNANDO MAMEDE (Portugal)

Absentees: Werner Schildhauer, East Germany (S), Hansjörg Kunze, East Germany (B). Mamede, the new world-record holder, is unreliable in pressure meets. Watch for Cova to burst to the front off the last turn and win the gold with his irresistible 50-meter sprint.

TRACK & FIELD Men's marathon

ROB DE CASTELLA (Australia)
TOSHIHIKO SEKO (Japan)
CARLOS LOPES (Portugal)

Absentee: Waldemar Cierpinski, East Germany (B). De Castella leads or runs with the leaders, provided they travel at a reasonable pace, for most of a race and wears everyone down. But if the need arises, he's also capable of winning with a finishing kick.

TRACK & FIELD 110 hurdles

GREG FOSTER (U.S.A.)
TONE CAMPBELL (U.S.A.)
ROGER KINGDOM (U.S.A.)

Dark horse Arto Bryggare of Finland, the only non-American with a real chance to get a medal, may be the first man out of the blocks, but Foster is so strong and fast, he can hit a couple of hurdles and still eventually move to the fore. A U.S. sweep is almost certain.

TRACK & FIELD Men's 400 hurdles

EDWIN MOSES (U.S.A.)
HARALD SCHMID (W. Ger.)
DANNY HARRIS (U.S.A.)

Nobody has ever dominated a track event as Moses, the 1976 Olympic champion and current world champ, has this one. He was last beaten in '77 by Schmid. He's exciting to watch, too—a picture of fluidity. He should lead from the start to bring his win string to 106.

TRACK & FIELD 20-km walk

ERNESTO CANTO (Mexico)
MAURIZIO DAMILANO (Italy)
JOSÉ MARIN (Spain)

Absentees: Jozef Pribilinec, Czechoslovakia (S), Yevgeniy Yevsyukov, U.S.S.R. (B). Canto set the world mark of 1:18:39.9 and is the world champ. An added incentive: He'll perform in front of fans from L.A.'s large Mexican community, who can watch his event gratis.

TRACK & FIELD 50-km walk

RAUL GONZALES (Mexico)
JOSÉ MARIN (Spain)
JORGE LLOPART (Spain)

Absentee: Ronald Weigel, East Germany (S). World-record holder Gonzales, too, will have support from Los Angeles's Little Mexico. Marin, one of four walkers who beat Gonzales at last year's world championships, is eminently capable of upsetting him once more.

TRACK & FIELD Men's high jump

ZHU JIANHUA (China)
CARLO THRÄNHARDT (W. Ger.)
DWIGHT STONES (U.S.A.)

Zhu set his most recent world record of 7'10" in competition against Thr√§nhardt and another West German, Dietmar M√∂genburg (both have bests of 7'8¾"). M√∂genburg should finish third—except that one has a strong hunch Stones is headed for a third bronze.

TRACK & FIELD Pole vault

MIKE TULLY (U.S.A.)
EARL BELL (U.S.A.)
PIERRE QUINON (France)

Absentees: Sergei Bubka, U.S.S.R. (G), Konstantin Volkov, U.S.S.R. (S). Both Tully and Bell have set American marks this year, Bell at 19'¼" and Tully at 19'¾". They're hot. Tully has an advantage: He'll be returning to the stadium where he vaulted to his record.

TRACK & FIELD Men's long jump

CARL LEWIS (U.S.A.)
LARRY MYRICKS (U.S.A.)
GIOVANNI EVANGELISTI (Italy)

Absentee: Lutz Dombrowski, East Germany (B). Don't ask how far Lewis will jump—at worst, a few inches off Bob Beamon's world record of 29'2½" set at altitude—just watch him pound down the runway and—boom!—sail away, seemingly forever, on his 1½ hitch kick.

TRACK & FIELD Triple jump

MIKE CONLEY (U.S.A.)
KEITH CONNOR (Gr. Britain)
WILLIE BANKS (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Zdzislaw Hoffman, Poland (G). Banks is the star of this event, a flamboyant crowd pleaser who'll get the Coliseum spectators clapping, but Conley, the quiet one, who won at the U.S. Olympic Trials, has the longest jumps—57'5" tops—this year.

TRACK & FIELD Men's discus

JOHN POWELL (U.S.A.)
MAC WILKINS (USA)
ART BURNS (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Imrich B√∫gar, Czechoslovakia (G), Luis Delis, Cuba (S). Archrivals Powell and Wilkins have been going at each other since 1972. This time Powell has the edge over '76 gold medalist Wilkins because his throw of 233'9" in June was the fourth-longest ever.

TRACK & FIELD Men's shotput

DAVE LAUT (U.S.A.)
ALESSANDRO ANDREI (Italy)
AUGIE WOLF (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Udo Beyer, East Germany (G), Edward Sarul, Poland (S). Andrei has thrown a bit better than Laut this year, but Laut has the homecourt advantage and thrives on pressure. For third it's a toss-up between Wolf and another American, Michael Carter.

TRACK & FIELD Hammer

JUHA TIAINEN (Finland)
KARL-HANS RIEHM (W. Ger.)
KLAUS PLOGHAUS (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Yuri Sedykh, U.S.S.R. (G), Sergei Litvinov, U.S.S.R. (S). Tiainen has had several throws of more than 263 feet since last August, and nobody else in the West has done as well. Riehm was poised to get a medal in 1980, but that fire now seems gone.

TRACK & FIELD Men's javelin

TOM PETRANOFF (U.S.A.)
EINAR VILHJALMSSON (Iceland)
DUNCAN ATWOOD (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Uwe Hohn, East Germany (S), Detlef Michel, East Germany (B). In early July Petranoff threw 322'8", only 4' 6" shy of his world record, indicating that he's back in top form. Hohn has 1984's best mark (326'6"), but a sharp Petranoff would have beaten him.

TRACK & FIELD Decathlon

DALEY THOMPSON (Gr. Britain)
J√úRGEN HINGSEN (W. Ger.)
SIEGFRIED WENTZ (W. Ger.)

Twice—at the 1982 European and the '83 world championships—Hingsen came in as the world-record holder, only to be beaten by Thompson. Thompson gets ahead in the first two events, the 100 and the long jump, and his fierce competitiveness takes over from there.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 100

EVELYN ASHFORD (U.S.A.)
MERLENE OTTEY (Jamaica)
ALICE BROWN (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Marlies Göhr, East Germany (G). Ashford has the best body lean in the business, and she holds it throughout the race, which gives her better velocity. If her tender right hamstring doesn't bother her, at 60 meters she'll pop into a higher gear than anyone else.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 200

MERLENE OTTEY (Jamaica)
VALERIE BRISCO-HOOKS (U.S.A.)
KATHY COOK (Gr. Britain)

Absentees: Bärbel Wöckel, East Germany (G), Marlies Göhr, East Germany (S). Most likely, Brisco-Hooks, who burst upon the scene this season, will be ahead coming off the turn, but Ottey, a sprinter of the first order for four years, will take over in the stretch.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 4 X 100

U.S.A.
CANADA
JAMAICA

Absentee: East Germany (G). Fast starter Alice Brown may lead off, followed by Diane Williams, Jeanette Bolden and Evelyn Ashford. Last year, a U.S. team beat East Germany which shows that the Americans can pass perfectly—but it doesn't happen often.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 400

CHANDRA CHEESEBOROUGH (U.S.A.)
VALERIE BRISCO-HOOKS (U.S.A.)
MARITA PAYNE (Canada)

Absentees: Marita Koch, East Germany (G), Tatiana Kocembova, Czechoslovakia (S), Olga Vladykina, U.S.S.R. (B). Cheeseborough, who has recently moved up from the sprints, beat Brisco-Hooks with her strong finish at the trials and set a U.S. record of 49.28.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 4 X 400

U.S.A.
CANADA
WEST GERMANY

Absentees: East Germany (G), Czechoslovakia (S), U.S.S.R. (B). If Brisco-Hooks leads off, the U.S. will zoom ahead. She'll be followed by Sherri Howard, Lillie Leatherwood and Chandra Cheeseborough. Howard, fourth in the trials' 400, is faster than anyone on other teams.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 800

MARGRIT KLINGER (W. Ger.)
DOINA MELINTE (Romania)
KIM GALLAGHER (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Jarmila Kratochvilova, Czechoslovakia (G), Irina Podyalovskaya, U.S.S.R. (S), Nadyezhda Olizaryenko, U.S.S.R. (B). Melinte's personal best of 1:55.05 is better than Klinger's, but Klinger is more aggressive and has a better record as a big-meet performer.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 1,500

MARICICA PUICA (Romania)
RUTH WYSOCKI (U.S.A.)
DOINA MELINTE (Romania)

Absentees: Ravilya Agletdinova, U.S.S.R. (G), Yekaterina Podkopayeva, U.S.S.R. (S), Nadyezhda Raldugina, U.S.S.R. (B). Puica is world cross-country champ and has recently run fast in the 1,500 (3:57.22) and 3,000 (8:35.05), indicating she should excel in both.

TRACK & FIELD 3,000

MARY DECKER (U.S.A.)
MARICICA PUICA (Romania)
BRIGITTE KRAUS (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Tatyana Kazankina, U.S.S.R. (S), Svyetlana Ulmasova, U.S.S.R. (B). Decker will force the pace as she did in beating Kraus and Kazankina at the 1983 worlds. Puica and Kraus will try to catch her down the stretch. Dark horse: Zola Budd of Great Britain.

TRACK & FIELD Women's marathon

JOAN BENOIT (U.S.A.)
GRETE WAITZ (Norway)
INGRID KRISTIANSEN (Norway)

Kristiansen may have an edge because of her recent 5,000-meter world record, Waitz because she's the perennial queen of the road. But Benoit, who has run a 2:22:43 world best, showed what she's made of when she won the U.S. trials 17 days after knee surgery.

TRACK & FIELD 100 hurdles

SHIRLEY STRONG (Gr. Britain)
BENITA FITZGERALD-BROWN (U.S.A.)
KIM TURNER (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Vera Akimova, U.S.S.R. (G), Cornelia Riefstahl, East Germany (S), Bettine Jahn, East Germany (B). Strong has the fastest time of the season among those present (12.96), but with six probable finalists closely matched, there could be a blanket finish.

TRACK & FIELD Women's 400 hurdles

ANN-LOUISE SKOGLUND (Sweden)
JUDI BROWN (U.S.A.)
NAWAL EL-MOUTAWAKIL (Morocco)

Absentees: Margarita Ponomaryava, U.S.S.R. (G), Birgit Uibel, East Germany (S), Anna Ambraziene, U.S.S.R. (B). Skoglund and ElMoutawakil will run in the lead from the start. Brown is strongest in the stretch, but by then Skoglund may be too far ahead to catch.

TRACK & FIELD Women's high jump

ULRIKE MEYFARTH (W. Ger.)
LOUISE RITTER (U.S.A.)
NICULINA VASILE (Romania)

Absentees: Tamara Bykova, U.S.S.R. (G), Silvia Costa, Cuba (B). A 72 Olympic champ, Meyfarth has had ups and downs; she rose to the top again at the '82 European Championships. She tied Bykova at a world-record 6'8" in '83, a height Bykova has since topped.

TRACK & FIELD Women's long jump

ANISOARA CUSMIR (Romania)
VALY IONESCU (Romania)
CAROL LEWIS (U.S.A.)

Absentee: Heike Daute, East Germany (G). Cusmir, the world-record holder at 24'4¼", puts on a show: Don't miss her in her yellow jersey and peroxide-blonde hair as she heads down the runway, doing full-arc arm swings. She and lonescu are clearly the class of this field.

TRACK & FIELD Women's shotput

MIHAELA LOGHIN (Romania)
CLAUDIA LOSCH (W. Ger.)
GAEL MARTIN (Australia)

Absentees: IIona Briesenick, East Germany (G), Natalya Lisovskaya, U.S.S.R. (S), Helena Fibingerova, Czechoslovakia (B). This is one of the events most diminished by the boycott. Loghin recently had a put of 68'10¾", far short of Lisovskaya's world mark of 73'11".

TRACK & FIELD Women's discus

RIA STALMAN (Neth.)
INGRA MANECKE (W. Ger.)
FLORENTA CRACIUNESCU (Romania)

Absentees: Gisela Beyer, East Germany (G), Martina Opitz, East Germany (S), Maria Vergova, Bulgaria (B). Stalman and Manecke are even, but Stalman will feel more at home, thrice having been the U.S. collegiate champ while at UTEP and Arizona State.

TRACK & FIELD Women's javelin

TIINA LILLAK (Finland)
FATIMA WHITBREAD (Gr. Britain)
TESSA SANDERSON (Gr. Britain)

Absentee: Petra Felke, East Germany (S). Lillak holds the world record of 245'3", is world champ and went undefeated last year. This season she has a best of 243'7". But she's coming off a stress fracture of her ankle. Can she overcome that? Probably.

TRACK & FIELD Heptathlon

JACKIE JOYNER (U.S.A.)
JODI ANDERSON (U.S.A.)
SABINE BRAUN (W Ger.)

Absentees: Ramona Neubert, East Germany (G), Sabine Paetz, East Germany (S), Natalya Shubenkova, U.S.S.R. (B). Joyner, the American record holder with a total of 6,520 points, should triumph on the strength of her superior hurdling and high and long jumping.

VOLLEYBALL Men

U.S.A.
BRAZIL
CANADA

Absentees: U.S.S.R. (G), Poland (S), Bulgaria (B). The top Americans are Aldis Berzins and Karch Kiraly, who are quick and good at all phases of the game. They lead a team that's not big but plays intensely, digging more balls than most of its opponents.

VOLLEYBALL Women

U.S.A.
CHINA
JAPAN

China is the world champion, but the U.S has the home court advantage. Besides, America has the world's best player in 6'5" Flo Hyman, a left side attacker who's almost unstoppable. U.S. flaw: It doesn't have the patience to wait for a rival to make a mistake.

WATER POLO

U.S.A.
WEST GERMANY
YUGOSLAVIA

Absentee: U.S.S.R. (G). During two tours of Europe this year, the U.S. was only beaten once and tied once—the U.S.S.R. did the honors both times—in 16 matches. America has a superb 6'5" goalie, Craig Wilson, who keys the offense with very accurate outlet passes.

WEIGHTLIFTING 114 pounds

KAZUSHITO MANABE (Japan)
CAI JUNCHENG (China)
HEDEMI MIYASHITE (Japan)

Absentees: Neno Terzyiski, Bulgaria (G), Jacek Gutowski, Poland (S), Stefan Leletko, Poland (B). Although Manabe did his finest lifting two years ago, he seems to have the best shot. Look for world-record attempts in the snatch by the two Japanese compacts.

WEIGHTLIFTING 123 pounds

WU SHUDE (China)
LAI RUNMING (China)
GHEORGHE MAFTEI (Romania)

Absentees: Naim Suleimanov, Bulgaria (G), Oksen Mirzoyan, U.S.S.R. (S), Andreas Letz, East Germany (B). This should be the best class for China, which only recently joined the International Weightlifting Federation. Dark horse: 4' 11" Albert Hood of the U.S.

WEIGHTLIFTING 132 pounds

GELU RADU (Romania)
CHEN WEIQUIANG (China)
YOUSUKE MURAKI (Japan)

Absentees: Stefan Topurov, Bulgaria (G), Yurik Sarkisian, U.S.S.R. (S), Anton Kodzhabashev, U.S.S.R. (B). Radu should beat Chen narrowly because of his superiority in the snatch. He will pace Romania to its first weightlifting team victory (unofficial) in the Olympics.

WEIGHTLIFTING 148 pounds

YAO JINGYAN (China)
JOUNI GRONMAN (Finland)
BILL TELLIOS (Australia)

Absentees: Joachim Kunz, East Germany (G), Andreas Behm, East Germany (S), Vladimir Grachev, U.S.S.R. (B). Yao won his nation's 1983 title with a total of 699.9 pounds. If he can match that, he should win the gold. His edge over Gronman is in the clean and jerk.

WEIGHTLIFTING 165 pounds

DRAGOMIR CIOROSLAN (Romania)
KARL-HEINZ RADSCHINSKY (W. Ger.)
JACQUES DEMERS (Canada)

Absentees: Zdravko Stoichkov, Bulgaria (G), Aleksandr Varbanov, Bulgaria (S), Vladimir Kuznetsov, U.S.S.R. (B). There's very little to pick between Cioroslan and Radschinsky. They have even registered identical best totals (777 pounds) this year.

WEIGHTLIFTING 181 pounds

RYOJI ISAOKA (Japan)
CONSTANTIN URDAS (Romania)
PETRE BECHERU (Romania)

Absentees: Assen Zlatev, Bulgaria (G), Yurik Vardanian, U.S.S.R. (S). Even though Urdas has a slightly higher total—his best is 810 pounds to Isaoka's 804½—the smart money gives the edge to Isaoka, because of his superiority in the closing lift, the clean and jerk.

WEIGHTLIFTING 198 pounds

NIKU VLAD (Romania)
PETER IMMERSBERGER (W. Ger.)
KEVIN WINTER (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Blagoi Blagoev, Bulgaria (G), Viktor Solodov, U.S.S.R. (S), Andrzej Piotrowski, Poland (B). Vlad, who's rumored to be a descendant of the man who inspired the Dracula legends—Vlad the Impaler—should easily stick it to Immersberger and Winter.

WEIGHTLIFTING 220 pounds

VASILE GROAPA (Romania)
ROLF MILSER (W. Ger.)
KEVIN ROY (Canada)

Absentees: Pavel Kuznetsov, U.S.S.R. (G), Andrzej Komar, Poland (S), Michael Hennig, East Germany (B). Romania is on a roll, which will boost Groapa's confidence and help him defeat Milser. Dark horse: Ken Clark of the U.S., who prepares himself well mentally.

WEIGHTLIFTING 242 pounds

NOBERTO OBERBURGER (Italy)
STEFAN TASNADI (Romania)
GUY CARLTON (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Yuri Zakharevich, U.S.S.R. (G), Yanko Georgiev, Bulgaria (S). Oberburger is handsome, broad-shouldered, emotional and young (23); he knows how to stir a crowd. Carlton, too, likes the onlookers to go bananas before he lifts; it spurs him to bigger efforts.

WEIGHTLIFTING Over 242 pounds

MARIO MARTINEZ (U.S.A.)
DEAN LUKIN (Australia)
MANFRED NERLINGER (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Anatoli Pisarenko, U.S.S.R. (G), Aleksandr Gunyashev, U.S.S.R. (S), Antonio Krastev, Bulgaria (B). This class is usually the strongest for the U.S. The 290-pound Martinez keeps the crowd on edge by taking his own sweet time as he prepares to lift.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 105.5 pounds

BOBBY WEAVER (U.S.A.)
NICU HINCU (Romania)
SOHN KAP DO (S. Korea)

Absentees: Kim Hwan Cher, North Korea (G), Aleksandr Dorgeou, U.S.S.R. (S), Jan Falandys, Poland (B). Weaver gets the nod because he's skilled on his feet. The South Koreans are largely an unknown quantity, but insiders expect them to do well.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 114.5 pounds

JOE GONZALES (U.S.A.)
YUJI TAKADA (Japan)
ARSLAN SEYHANLI (Turkey)

Absentees: Anatoly Beloglasov, U.S.S.R. (G), Valentin Jordanov, Bulgaria (S), Hartmut Reich, East Germany (B). Takada has better credentials, but Gonzales, who recovered from an injury to make the U.S. team, is a take-down expert who scores from any position.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 125.5 pounds

HIDEAKI TOMIYAMA (Japan)
BARRY DAVIS (U.S.A.)
SABAN SEIDIJU (Yugoslavia)

Absentees: Sergei Beloglasov, U.S.S.R. (G), Stephan Ivanov, Bulgaria (B). Tomiyama was the world champion in 1978 and '79, the runner-up in '82 and '83. Davis, 22, is the youngest member of the U.S. wrestling team. He's a go-go performer who never, never quits.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 136.5 pounds

LEE ROY SMITH (U.S.A.)
TRAIAN MARINESCU (Romania)
SABAN TRSTENA (Yugoslavia)

Absentees: Viktor Alekseyev, U.S.S.R. (G), Simon Tsherev, Bulgaria (B). At press time, Smith was not yet confirmed as an Olympian, pending the ruling on a protest filed after the U.S. trials. If he's in L.A., he should win because he can score explosively.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 149.5 pounds

ANDREW REIN (U.S.A.)
KOKICHI SUGINO (Japan)
YOO IN TAK (S. Korea)

Absentees: Arsen Fadzaev, U.S.S.R. (G), Baijdelger Bold, Mongolia (S), Kamen Penev, Bulgaria (B). Rein once placed fourth in the world championships. He's a very cagey competitor who seldom makes a mistake, which should be enough to win this depleted class.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 163 pounds

DAVE SCHULTZ (U.S.A.)
MARTIN KNOSP (W. Ger.)
PEKKA RAUHALA (Finland)

Absentee: Taram Magomadov, U.S.S.R. (S). Dave, the older of the Schultz brothers and the current world champ, is the most polished technician in the U.S. It's difficult to score on him, and he works his tilts (turning his opponent onto his back) as well as anyone.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 180.5 pounds

RESHIT KARABACHAK (Turkey)
MARK SCHULTZ (U.S.A.)
CHRIS RINKE (Canada)

Absentees: Tejmuraz Dzgoev, U.S.S.R. (G), Efraim Kamberov, Bulgaria (S), Zeveg Dubchin, Mongolia (B). Schultz, the strongest U.S. wrestler, has of late gathered needed international experience. Karabachak, once retired, has made a very strong comeback.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 198 pounds

CLARK DAVIS (Canada)
ISMAIL TEMIZ (Turkey)
ED BANACH (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Uwe Neupert, East Germany (G), Petr Naniev, U.S.S.R. (S). When Davis won a silver at the 1982 world championships, he was only two seconds short of victory when Neupert rerolled him. Usually Davis has a knack for winning such tough matches.

WRESTLING Freestyle, 220 pounds

LOU BANACH (U.S.A.)
GHEORGHE BROSTIANU (Romania)
RICHARD DESCHATELETS (Canada)

Absentees: Aslan Khadartsev, U.S.S.R. (G), Istvan Robotko, Hungary (S), Georgiy Yanchev, Bulgaria (B). The other Banach twin, recent author of The New Breed (a book on what it takes to be a college wrestler), is as dynamic as his brother and more highly skilled.

WRESTLING Freestyle, over 220 pounds

BRUCE BAUMGARTNER (U.S.A.)
SITKI KADIROLU (Turkey)
BOB MOLLE (Canada)

Absentees: Salman Khasimikov, U.S.S.R. (S), Adam Sandourski, Poland (B). Baumgartner has the perfect blend of quickness, strength and technique. In 1983 he placed third in the worlds, but this year he would've been favored for gold even without the boycott.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 105.5 pounds

BERND SCHERER (W. Ger.)
VICENZO MAENZA (Italy)
MARK FULLER (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Miagetdin Alaksjverdijv, U.S.S.R. (G), Ortze Ortsev, Bulgaria (S). Scherer and Maenza are almost dead even; Maenza beat Scherer in the 1984 European championships, but Scherer would seem to have stronger motivation. He dearly wants revenge.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 114.5 pounds

MIHAI CISMAS (Romania)
ATSUJI MIYAHARA (Japan)
EROL KEMAH (Turkey)

Absentee: Minsajd Tazetdinov, U.S.S.R. (G). Cismas attacks right away, no fooling around. The Romanians are tops technically, even the Soviets say so, and Cismas is their best. What Miyahara lacks in strength, he makes up for with speed. He's an adept arm thrower.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 125.5 pounds

PASQUALE PASSARELLI (W. Ger.)
MASAKI ETO (Japan)
NICOLA ZAMFIR (Romania)

Absentee: Kamil Fatkulin, U.S.S.R. (B). It's a toss-up between Passarelli and Eto, who's the world champ. Passarelli is the pick because he's excellent on the mat, where he scores almost every time he gets on top. He has some terrific body lifts working for him, too.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 136.5 pounds

HANNU LAHTINEN (Finland)
ABDURRAHIM KUZU (U.S.A.)
CONSTANTIN UTA (Romania)

Absentee: Komandar Madsjidov, U.S.S.R. (B). Lahtinen has a reputation for not letting his foes score on him. He's tough on the mat, and when he scores, he does it in flurries of three, four or five points. Kuzu is an immigrant from Turkey, who was second in the 1979 worlds.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 149.5 pounds

TAPIO SIPILA (Finland)
STEFAN NEGRISAN (Romania)
JIM MARTINEZ (USA)

Absentee: Mihail Prokudin, U.S.S.R. (G). A tough call here: Sipila is the reigning world champion; Negrisan was the runner-up to the formidable Prokudin in the recent European championships. Both come from countries with very strong traditions in Greco-Roman.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 163 pounds

ROGER TALLROTH (Sweden)
KAROL KASAP (Yugoslavia)
KARL-HEINZ HELBING (W. Ger.)

Absentee: Mihail Mamyasvily, U.S.S.R. (B). Tallroth is the current European champion. He's husky and strong and noted for his gut wrench in which, on the mat, he locks his arms around the waist of his rival and rolls him to one side. Kasap is strong on the mat, too.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 180.5 pounds

MOMIR PETKOVIC (Yugoslavia)
JARMO ÖVERMARK (Finland)
ION DRAICA (Romania)

Absentees: Tejmuraz Apchazava, U.S.S.R. (G), Angel Bontsjev, Bulgaria (B). Petković, whose hallmark is consistency, knows how to handle the pressure of major competition. Dark horse: Dan Chandler of the U.S., who made the Olympic team for the third time.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 198 pounds

FRANK ANDERSSON (Sweden)
STEVE FRASER (U.S.A.)
GEORGIOS POZIDIS (Greece)

Absentees: Atanas Komtjev, Bulgaria (G), Igor Kanygin, U.S.S.R. (S). Three-time world champion Andersson has recovered from surgery on his shoulder and should finally get a medal in his third Olympics. Fraser is a pounder who wears his opponents out.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, 220 pounds

GREG GIBSON (U.S.A.)
JOSEF TERTELJI (Yugoslavia)
VASILE ANDREI (Romania)

Absentees: Tamàs Gàspàr, Hungary (G), Thomas Horschel, East Germany (B). Gibson is the most versatile U.S. wrestler ever. He has been second in the freestyle worlds and a world titlist in sambo (a mix of Greco-Roman and judo). He's noted for his gut wrench.

WRESTLING Greco-Roman, over 220 pounds

REFIK MEMISEVIĆ (Yugoslavia)
VICTOR DOLIPSCHI (Romania)
JEFF BLATNICK (U.S.A.)

Absentees: Alexander Tomov, Bulgaria (G), Candido Meza, Cuba (S). Memisevic weighs 260 pounds, Dolipschi 360. Both are experienced and wise. Blatnick has been working out with 420-pound Pete Lee, a U.S. alternate, perfecting his slide-bys and duck-unders.

YACHTING Windglider

KLAUS MARAN (Italy)
STEFAN VAN DEN BERG (Neth.)
SVEIN RASMUSSEN (Norway)

Maran is 6'5" and recently got his weight down to 156 pounds because being very tall and very skinny is a big advantage in this sport. A three-time world champion, Maran is expected to beat five-time world champ van den Berg, who is four inches shorter.

YACHTING Finn

LASSE HJORTNAES (Denmark)
WOLFGANG GERZ (W. Ger.)
JOHN BERTRAND (U.S.A.)

Bertrand, who was favored in 1980, subsequently turned to other types of boats. Now he's back—maybe. At press time, he was awaiting a protest ruling that would secure his place on the team. If Bertrand isn't around, figure Mike McIntyre of Britain for the bronze.

YACHTING 470

EVANS/REEVES (N. Zealand)
BENJAMIN/STEINFELD (U.S.A.)
FRIEDLANDER/BROCKMAN (Israel)

Absentees: Borowski/Swensson, East Germany (B). The New Zealanders get more speed out of their boat in heavy air than their rivals, and there's certain to be heavy air at the venue off Long Beach. Nonetheless, U.S. skipper Steve Benjamin could make things tight.

YACHTING Flying Dutchman

RICHARDS/ALLAM (Gr. Britain)
McKEE/BUCHAN (U.S.A.)
DIESCH/DIESCH (W. Ger.)

Absentees: Haase/Wenzel, East Germany (B). British skipper Jo Richards has been the pacesetter in this class for four years. Still, U.S. helmsman Jonathan McKee and crewman Carl Buchan won the 1983 world title in light air and the trials in heavy air. They could upset.

YACHTING Soling

HAINES/DAVIS/TREVELYAN (U.S.A.)
KUHWEIDE/LOLL/MAY (W. Ger.)
LAW/LEASK/RICHARDS (Gr. Britain)

Absentees: Budnikov/Budnikov/Polyakov, U.S.S.R. (B). In this class it's important to get a good start so one can then work the wind shifts as freely as possible, and U.S. skipper Robbie Haines is a master starter. He's so adept, in fact, his gold medal is virtually guaranteed.

YACHTING Star

GRIESE/MARCOUR (W. Ger.)
BUCHAN/ERICKSON (U.S.A.)
GORLA/PERABONI (Italy)

Absentees: Mankin/Musytchenko, U.S.S.R. (B). Joachim Griese is accustomed to the stiff breezes on the Baltic Sea, and he was fastest in the pre-Olympic regatta last year. The Italians are the world champs, but the brisk winds at Long Beach aren't to their liking.

YACHTING Tornado

CAIRNS/ANDERSON (Australia)
SMYTH/GLASER (U.S.A.)
WHITE/CAMPBELL-JAMES (Gr. Britain)

Randy Smyth and Jay Glaser dominated this extremely fast catamaran class until Chris Cairns developed a new rig two years ago and got two world championships with it. Smyth and Glaser switched to the same type of rig six months ago and are catching up.

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Dorina Vaccaroni, Italy, Fencing

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Pace, U.S.A., Archery

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Kim J.H., S. Korea, Archery

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Jordan, U.S.A., Basketball

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McCrory, U.S.A., 112 pounds

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Shannon, U.S.A., 119 pounds

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Breland, U.S.A., 147 pounds

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Hugh Fisher and Alwyn Morris, Canada, Kayak pairs 500

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Cain, Canada, Canadian singles 1,000

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Marcussen, Den., Points race

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Carpenter, U.S.A., Road race

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McCormick, U.S., Springboard

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Chen, China, Platform

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Green, Gr. Britain, 3-day event

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Burr, U.S.A., Individual jumping

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Borrmann, W. Ger., Épée

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Charlesworth, Aust., Hockey

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Gushiken, Japan, Parallel bars

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Li N., China, All-around

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McNamara, U.S.A., Uneven bars

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Szabo, Romania, All-around

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Merdan, Yugoslavia, Handball

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Masala, Italy, Mod. pent.

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Abbagnale brothers, Italy, Pairs with cox

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New Zealand, Men's eights

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Skanåker, Sweden, Free pistol

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Spurgin, U.S.A., Air rifle

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Stojković, Yugoslavia, Soccer

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Gaines, U.S.A., 100 free

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DiCarlo, U.S.A., 400 free

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Davis, Canada, 200 breaststroke

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Lundquist, U.S.A., 100 breast

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Float, U.S.A., 4 X 200 free

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Meagher, U.S.A., 100 and 200 butterfly

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Woodhead, U.S.A., 200 free

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Hogshead, U.S.A., 100 free

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Ruiz and Costie, U.S.A., Synchronized swimming

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Coe, Gr. Britain, 800

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Canto, Mexico, 20-km walk

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Tully, U.S.A., Pole vault

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Powell, U.S.A., Discus

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Laut, U.S.A., Shotput

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Ashford, U.S.A., 100

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Puica, Romania, 1,500

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Cheeseborough, U.S.A., 400

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Meyfarth, West Germany, High jump

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Kiraly, U.S.A., Volleyball

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Wilson, U.S.A., Water polo

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Martinez, U.S.A., 242+ pounds

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Oberburger, Italy, 242 pounds

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Gonzales, U.S.A., 114.5 pounds

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Baumgartner, U.S., 220+

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L. Banach, U.S., 220 pounds

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Tomiyama, Japan, 125.5 pounds

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Tallroth, Sweden, 163 pounds

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Hjortnaes, Denmark, Finn

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Scott Anderson and Cairns, Aust., Tornado

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(From rear) Haines, Ed Trevlyan and Rod Davis, U.S.A., Soling

THIRTY SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS