2004 U.S. Olympic Primer
In exactly one year the summer Olympics will return to Athens for
the first time since the modern Games were founded in 1896. On
the following pages you'll find a rundown of how the U.S. teams
in each of the 32 Olympic sports will attempt to qualify for
Athens (some teams have already qualified; others have been
eliminated) and how they will select their team members. You'll
also see how the U.S., which took home 97 medals from the 2000
Games--the most of any nation--fared in each sport in Sydney.
The Road to ATHENS
Archery
Qualifying: The U.S. secured five Olympic slots--for three men
and two women--at the world championships and could earn another
women's berth at a regional event in Medellin, Colombia, next
month. Team members will be chosen at the Olympic trials.
Where/When: Trials site to be determined; tentative dates are
June 14-20.
2000 U.S. medal count: Two (no gold)
Badminton
Qualifying: Berths are based on players' world ranking points
from May 2003 through May '04. Each country can send up to three
competitors per event (five events).
Where/When: Various locations.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Baseball
Qualifying: Assuming the U.S. qualifies for Athens, a nine-member
committee, headed by former major leaguer Bob Watson and
ex-Brewers G.M. Dean Taylor, will appoint a manager and coaches.
Another committee, to include representatives from each big
league club, will choose the 24 pro players for the team. USA
Baseball has no timetable for the selection.
Where/When: To qualify for the Olympics, the U.S. must finish
first or second in the Americas regional tournament in Panama
City, Panama, from Nov. 1 through Nov. 11.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (gold)
Basketball
Qualifying: USA Basketball has named Ray Allen, Mike Bibby, Vince
Carter, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Karl Malone, Tracy
McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal to the U.S. men's team; three more
players will be chosen at an undetermined time to complete the
roster. To qualify, the men must finish in the top three at the
Americas tournament. The nine-member USA Basketball Women's
Senior National Committee will pick the 12 women players at an
undetermined time. (The team already earned a berth by winning
the world championships last year.) That committee has already
chosen Van Chancellor of the WNBA's Houston Comets to coach the
squad.
Where/When: Men's tournament in San Juan, through Aug. 31.
2000 U.S. medal count: Two (both gold)
Boxing
Qualifying: Eight fighters will compete in each of the 11 weight
classes at the Olympic trials in a double elimination tournament.
The victors in the winners' and losers' brackets then meet in the
boxoff.
Where/When: Trials in Tunica, Miss., date to be determined; site
and date of Olympic boxoffs to be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Four (no gold)
Canoe/Kayak
Qualifying: To be determined.
Where/When: To be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Cycling
Qualifying: There can be as many as 28 automatic selections in
three categories--road, track and mountain bike--based on past
performance, world rankings and Olympic trials competition; USA
Cycling reserves the right to make discretionary selections.
Where/When: To be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Three (one gold)
Diving
Qualifying: The top two men and women on platform and springboard
at the Olympic trials will make the team. In addition a third
athlete could compete in synchronized events.
Where/When: St. Peters, Mo., June 7-13.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (gold)
Equestrian
Qualifying: To be determined.
Where/When: To be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Three (one gold)
Fencing
Qualifying: Fencers earn spots in individual events based on
points gained in World Cup competitions that will be held through
March. If the U.S. earns Olympic berths in the team events,
members of those squads will be selected based on a series of
U.S. and World Cup competitions.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Field Hockey
Qualifying: The U.S. men have already been eliminated; the women
will try to qualify at a tournament next year. If the women go to
Athens, members will be selected by a committee that includes
coach Beth Anders.
Where/When: To qualify for Athens, the U.S. women must place in
the top five at an international tournament in Auckland, New
Zealand, in March.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Gymnastics
Qualifying: The team roster will be determined at next year's
Olympic trials.
Where/When: Anaheim, June 24-27.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Judo
Qualifying: There will be a trials event next year. If the U.S.'s
No. 1-ranked competitor in a weight class (there are seven
classes for men and seven for women) wins, he makes the team. If
a lower-ranked competitor wins, he must face the No. 1-ranked
judoka in a best two-of-three tournament.
Where/When: To be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Modern Pentathlon
Qualifying: Two men and two women go (one of each gender has
already qualified) based on international competitions through
May.
Where/When: Various.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (no gold)
Rowing
Qualifying: To be determined.
Where/When: To be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Three (no gold)
Sailing
Qualifying: Sailors in each of the nine classes (11 events) will
have a single trial at which they will race in a series of six to
10 races. Competitors will receive points based on how they
finish in their races (first place receiving one point, second
place two points, and so on). The entry--team or individual--with
the fewest aggregate points over the course of the races will
earn the spot on the Olympic team. The U.S. could have one entry
per class of vessel.
Where/When: Mistral, Martin County, Fla., Nov. 6-16; 470 and
Lasers, Houston, Nov. 6-16; Europe and Finn, Fort Lauderdale,
Feb. 12-22; 49er and Yngling, Key Biscayne, Fla., Feb. 12-22;
Tornado, Miami, Feb. 12-22; Star, Martin County, Fla., March
18-28.
2000 U.S. medal count: Four (one gold)
Shooting
Qualifying: The U.S. will enter either one or two
shooters--chosen in one or two competitions--in each of the four
classifications. To be eligible to shoot in the Games,
competitors must meet qualifying standards in pre-Olympic
competition.
Where/When: To be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Three (one gold)
Soccer
Qualifying: Members of the teams will be selected by the U.S.
Olympic coaches. To qualify, the men must first advance to an
eight-team regional tournament and finish in the top two. The
women must finish in the top two in their eight-team regional.
Where/When: Men's eight-team regional tournament will be in
February in Guadalajara, Mexico. The women's eight-team regional
tournament will be at a site to be determined in Mexico in
February.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (no gold)
Softball
Qualifying: USA Softball will pick a national team of 18 to 20
players following a fall camp. (They have already qualified.) The
final Olympic members will be chosen this fall.
Where/When: The primary training site is ARCO Olympic Training
Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (gold)
Swimming
Qualifying: The team will be chosen at next year's Olympic
trials. The U.S. can send two swimmers in each individual event,
providing those competitors meet minimum qualifying standards.
Where/When: Long Beach, Calif., July 7-14.
2000 U.S. medal count: 33 (14 gold)
Synchronized Swimming
Qualifying: Already completed. Anna Kozlova and Alison Bartosik
have earned berths in the duet event. Additionally, the coaches
have selected a 13-member training squad that will work out in
Colorado Springs. Nine of those athletes will make the final
team.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Table Tennis
Qualifying: U.S. team berths are earned based on world rankings.
Each country is allowed a maximum of three singles players and
two doubles teams.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Taekwondo
Qualifying: Though there are four weight classes for men and four
for women, a country can enter only two men and two women. The
U.S. national coaches will name athletes to the team based on
which classes they feel the U.S. has the best chance of medaling
in.
Where/When: To be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (gold)
Tennis
Qualifying: The U.S. men's and women's teams will have a maximum
of six players each, with no more than four singles players.
Players will be selected based on world rankings. To be eligible,
however, athletes must have made themselves available for play in
international team tournaments (Davis Cup for men, Fed Cup for
women) in at least two of the past four years, with one of those
being '03 or '04.
2000 U.S. medal count: Three (two gold)
Team Handball
Qualifying: Men's and women's teams failed to qualify for the
Athens Olympics.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Track and Field
Qualifying: Various trials; the top three athletes in each event
will earn Olympic berths as long as they meet minimum qualifying
standards.
Where/When: Men's marathon, Birmingham, Feb. 7; men's
50-kilometer walk, Chula Vista, Calif., Feb. 15; women's
marathon, St. Louis, April 3; track and field, Sacramento, July
9-18.
2000 U.S. medal count: 20 (10 gold)
Triathlon
Qualifying: World rankings will determine the five remaining
spots. (One man has qualified.)
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Volleyball (Beach)
Qualifying: Two men's and two women's teams will be selected
based on their eight best finishes from 20 tournaments.
Where/When: Various locations, May 2003 through July '04.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (gold)
Volleyball (Indoor)
Qualifying: U.S. coaches will select the members of the men's and
women's teams. To qualify for Athens, the U.S. men and women must
either finish in the top three at the World Cup in Japan in
November or win the regional world qualifier for the Americas.
(There is also a last-chance tournament for each team.)
Where/When: The men's regional qualifier will be in Puerto Rico
in January; the women's regional qualifier will take place in
December at a site to be determined.
2000 U.S. medal count: Zero
Water Polo
Qualifying: U.S. coaches will select the members of the men's and
women's teams, both of which qualified for Athens by winning the
gold at the recently concluded Pan Am Games.
Where/When: The U.S. teams will likely do most of their
pre-Olympic training at the water polo training center in Los
Alamitos, Calif.
2000 U.S. medal count: One (no gold)
Weightlifting
Qualifying: Olympic trials will take place next year; teams will
earn the right to enter competitors in the Olympics based on
results at the 2003 world championships.
Where/When: The world championships will be in Vancouver, Nov.
14-22. The U.S. trials will be in St. Joseph, Mo., on May 8.
2000 U.S. medal count: Two (one gold)
Wrestling
Qualifying: Trials will determine who makes the team. The U.S.
will likely have one competitor in each weight class (seven in
Greco-Roman, seven in men's freestyle and four in women's
freestyle).
Where/When: The trials will be in Indianapolis, May 21-23.
2000 U.S. medal count: Seven (two gold)
COLOR PHOTO: BILL FRAKES MARION JONES
COLOR PHOTO: CHUCK SOLOMON (ZORN) MARY ZORN
COLOR PHOTO: USA BADMINTON (HAN AND BACH) KEVIN HAN (LEFT) AND HOWARD BACH
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COLOR PHOTO: WNBA ENTERPRISES (LESLIE) LISA LESLIE
COLOR PHOTO: SAEED KHAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (BERTO AND ARAGON) ANDRE BERTO OF THE U.S. (IN RED) AND LORENZO ARAGON OF CUBA
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COLOR PHOTO: JIM YOUNG/REUTERS (ROWERS) GOLD-MEDAL-WINNING U.S. ROWING TEAM FROM THE 2003 PAN AM GAMES
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COLOR PHOTO: KIM JAE-HWAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (KARELIN AND GARDNER) RUSSIA'S ALEXANDER KARELIN (LEFT) AND RULON GARDNER OF THE U.S.