Contents
22 THE GAMES
New nation will be showing their stripes
by Alexander Wolf
30 PERSONALITIES
Air Jordan gets together with Air Bubka
by Jack McCallum
34 CALIFORNIA
The Golden State is awash in gold medals
by Richard Hoffer
46 TRAVEL ALERT
An American need not be a pain in Spain
by Gary Smith
54 HEAD-TO-HEAD
A portfolio of stirring showdowns kicks off with E.M. Swift's look at gymnasts Kim Zmeskal and Svetlana Boginskaya
78 TRACK AND FIELD
American speedsters leave rivals in their wake
by Kenny Moore
Hot shot: Profiling Switzerland's Werner Günth‚Äö√†√∂‚Äö√†√ár
by Kenny Moore
Hot shot: A look at China's Huang Zhihong
by Franz Lidz
Francie Larrieu Smith enjoys a long run
by Kenny Moore
SWIMMING
The U.S. men are older than ever—richer, too
by Leigh Montville
A fleet American foursome chases relay gold
by Leigh Montville
Little Hungary looms large in the water
by Gary Smith
BASKETBALL
Can the U.S. men be beaten? Dream on
by Jack McCallum
The Americans enjoy a marketing slam dunk
by Jack McCallum
Teresa Edwards of the U.S. wants a third gold medal
by Jill Lieber
130 WEIGHTLIFTING
Naim Suleymanoglu shoulders Turkey's burdens
by Gary Smith
146 BOXING
Grounded in '88, Eric Griffin gets a second shot
by William Nack
150 BASEBALL
U.S. coach Ron Eraser prepares for a last hurrah
by Steve Wulf
154 CANOEING
Beasts and rivals are wary of Mike Herbert
by Alexander Wolff
158 VOLLEYBALL
A ferocious spiker makes Cuba a smashing hit
by William Nack
162 CYCLING
Some Olympians excel on blades and wheels
by Alexander Wolff
168 ROWING
Italy's Abbagnale brothers go for a third gold
by Hank Hersch
170 HANDBALL
Battered and aging, Sam Jones plays it again
by Douglas S. Looney
172 TENNIS
Meet the home team of the Barcelona Games
by Curry Kirkpatrick
178 BARCELONA
The host city is at once pragmatic and poetic
by Gary Smith
DEPARTMENTS
18 TELEVISION
191 MEDAL PICKS
215 POINT AFTER
Cover Photograph by Peter Read Miller
Contents Photograph by Walter Ioose Jr.
Issue Designed by F. Darrin Perry
PHOTO
WALTER IOOSS JR.
Exhibiting the "raw, horizontal velocity" with which U.S. men have dominated speed events, Mike Powell takes aim at Olympic gold and his own world long jump record of 29'4½" (page 78).
ILLUSTRATION