7.26.96

FORECAST: Expect a partly cloudy day, with a high of 89[degrees]
and a 20% chance of rain.

HOT TICKET: Swimming finals (SW76301). On the last night of
competition, Michelle Smith of Ireland goes for her fourth gold
medal, in the 200-meter butterfly. She is trying to match the
1988 record of East Germany's Kristin Otto for the most
individual swimming golds won by a woman at an Olympics.

DAILY DOUBLE: Michele Smith is no slouch herself. A designated
hitter when she isn't pitching, Smith will be in the lineup
today when the powerful U.S. softball team meets Australia in
Columbus, Ga.

TODAY'S GOLD RUSH

EQUESTRIAN (1)
(11 a.m.) Georgia International Horse Park

INDIVIDUAL THREE-DAY EVENT
Pick: Blyth Tait, New Zealand

JUDO (2)
(3 p.m.) Georgia World Congress Center

MEN'S 132 POUNDS
Pick: Georgi Vazagachvili, Georgia

WOMEN'S 106 POUNDS
Pick: Ryoko Tamura, Japan

SHOOTING (2)
(Noon) Wolf Creek Shooting Complex

WOMEN'S SPORT PISTOL
Pick: Jasna Sekaric, Yugoslavia

MEN'S RUNNING-GAME TARGET
Pick: Yang Ling, China

SWIMMING (5)
(7:30 p.m.) Georgia Tech Aquatic Center

WOMEN'S 200M BUTTERFLY
Pick: Susan O'Neill, Australia

MEN'S 200M BACKSTROKE
Pick: Vladimir Selkov, Russia

WOMEN'S 50M FREESTYLE
Pick: Le Jingyi, China

MEN'S 1,500M FREESTYLE
Pick: Kieren Perkins, Australia

MEN'S 4X100M MEDLEY RELAY
Pick: Russia

TRACK AND FIELD (2)
(8 a.m.) Olympic Stadium

MEN'S 20-KM WALK
Pick: Mikhail Shchennikov, Russia

(4:30 p.m.) Olympic Stadium

MEN'S SHOT PUT
Pick: John Godina, U.S.

WEIGHTLIFTING (1)
(4 p.m.) Georgia World Congress Center

183 POUNDS
Pick: Pyrros Dimas, Greece

LOCAL CULTURE

TELL ABOUT THE SOUTH
Atlanta-Fulton Public Library
1 Margaret Mitchell Square NW
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
Through Aug. 18

Subtitled "Georgia Writers from Margaret Mitchell to Alice
Walker," this literary exhibit has items from nine Georgia
novelists on display. Also featured are Raymond Andrews, Tina
McElroy Ansa, Erskine Caldwell, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Carmen
Deedy, Caroline Miller and Flannery O'Connor. Admission is $5
for adults, $2 for children under 12.

SI ONLINE

WWW.SPORTSILLUSTRATED.COM
Visit SI's Web site and CompuServe (SIOLYMPICS) for instant
Olympic results plus Games-related stories published in the
OLYMPIC DAILY and the weekly SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Browsers may
also search the SI Olympic Preview issue, the official Olympic
program and a database filled with Olympic history, past results
and information on every sport at the Summer Games.

COLOR PHOTO: AL TIELEMANS [John Godina holding discus]

SPOTLIGHT ON...

JOHN GODINA

Winner of a total of five NCAA titles in the shot put and
discus, he turned down a football scholarship from Nebraska to
compete in track at UCLA. With the start of track and field
competition today, Godina--in the shot--is expected to lead a
U.S. parade to the medal stand. He returns on Monday for
qualifying in the discus.