July 22, 1992 Table Of Contents
Television
Bob Costas, the anchorman for NBC's Olympic television coverage, is, as always, voluminously prepared
By Steve Wulf
The Games
Stars representing a constellation of new and old nations promise a banner Olympics
Personalities
When Michael Jordan and Sergei Bubka, two Olympic biggies, got together, international goodwill reached new heights
California
Unfurl the state flag, strike up the state hymn and join the author, an adopted son, in lauding California's Olympic deeds
Travel Alert
Hey, Ugly American! Leave your tacky togs, instant coffee and type-A behavior at home, so you won't be. . .
By Gary Smith
Head-To-Head
Kim Zmeskal VS Svetlana Boginskaya
A 19-page portfolio highlights some of the Games' most stirring confrontations, starting with a showdown between a world-champion U.S. gymnast and her Belarussian rival
By E.M. Swift
Kieren Perkins VS Jörg Hoffman
Heike Drechsler VS Jackie Joyner-Kersee
By Kenny Moore
By Steve Wulf
Craig Wilson VS Manuel Estiarte
By Steve Wulf
By William Oscar Johnson
Track And Field
When it comes to raw velocity—not to mention world records and gold medals—U.S. men have been tough as blazes for a decade
By Kenny Moore
Neither of their countries has won Olympic gold in track and field, but world shot put champs Werner Günth‚Äö√†√∂‚Äö√†√ár of Switzerland and Huang Zhihong of China following story) could break the drought
By Kenny Moore
By Franz Lidz
Francie Larrieu Smith, who burst onto the world track scene in 1969, is now 39 and has made her fifth U.S. Olympic team-this time as a marathon hopeful
By Kenny Moore
Swimming
Matt Biondi and Tom Jager lead a powerhouse U.S. men's team that is older than ever—and, not incidentally, richer too
The four women who figure to make up the U.S. 's medley relay team are dissimilar in many ways, but they form a potent unit
How does Hungary, so small and poor, produce such gifted swimmers? The closer one looks, the deeper the mystery
By Gary Smith
Basketball
Can the U.S. possibly lose in Barcelona? Only by the wildest flights of the author's imagination
The high-flying Americans are also scoring big in the marketing game
A gold medal winner on U.S. teams in '84 and '88, Teresa Edwards hopes to bring home yet another Olympic title
By Jill Lieber
Weightlifting
Having fled oppression in Bulgaria, Naim Suleymanoglu now strains under the adoration of the entire Turkish people
By Gary Smith
Boxing
Eric Griffin is intent on not having his gold medal dream shattered in '92, as it was in '88
By William Nack
Baseball
Ron Fraser's final coaching mission is to take Team USA to the gold medal
By Steve Wulf
Canoeing
Squirrels, bears and rival kayakers are all wary of Mike Herbert
Volleyball
Joel Despaigne's ferocious spikes have helped make Cuba a smashing success
By William Nack
Cycling
Olympians find that speed skating backgrounds often convert into pedal power
Rowing
For Italy's Abbagnale brothers, winning a third straight Olympic gold in pair with coxswain is a serious business
By Hank Hersch
Team Handball
Sam Jones will put her battered body on the line for a third—and final—Olympics
By Douglas S. Looney
Tennis
Barcelona's talented Sànchez siblings, Arantxa and Emilio, will try to keep their sport's gold medals from leaving town
Barcelona
A visit with five Barcelonans reveals a city at once pragmatic and poetic
By Gary Smith
XXV Olympic Summer Games
SI picks the medalists—809 of them—in all 257 events
Point After
Olympic purists should know by now there's no stopping the marketing bandwagon
Departments
By Mark Mulvoy