Lineup
Departments
8 Leading Off
16 Letters
18 Players
• A home for Barry Bonds
• The Chris Evert effect
• Cleaning up the Tour
28 Faces in the Crowd
32 Just My Type by Dan Patrick
• The mom in the pool
128 Point After
Withstanding a test of time by Chris Ballard
Inside ...
34 The NFL
• Advice for the Packers
36 NASCAR
• Three Chase long shots
38 Baseball
• A most coveted Marlin
41 Golf
• Paddy and the Shark
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY SIMON BRUTY
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2008 | OLYMPIC PREVIEW
44
Let It Begin
Anyone out to spoil the show will have to reckon with 1.3 billion proud Chinese
By ALEXANDER WOLFF
-OPEN-
Olympic Green Foldout
58
China's Athletes
The Games will let the world see a new side of the host nation's Olympians
By MARY NICOLE NAZZARO
• The Pressure on Liu Xiang
By TIM LAYDEN
68
The Quest
According to Chinese numerology, 8 is the most auspicious number. What Michael Phelps must do to win eight golds
By SUSAN CASEY
78
Team USA
America's new Olympians hail from 47 states and include identical twins, soldiers, a cancer patient and a 58-year-old CEO
By BRIAN CAZENEUVE
92
Redeem Team
After failing to win a major basketball title in eight years, the U.S. has taken a new (and foreign) approach
By ALEXANDER WOLFF
• U.S. Women
98
The Phenom
The record holder and the world champ were set to duel for the Olympic 100-meter title. Then along came Usain Bolt
By TIM LAYDEN
104
What's New
From a disabled swimmer to revised gymnastics scoring to three debuting countries, the Games will offer a range of firsts
By REBECCA SUN
109
Medal Picks
Who will reach the winner's podium in all 302 events; and a guide to some of the international athletes to watch
By BRIAN CAZENEUVE
PHOTO
PHOTOGRAPH OF MICHAEL PHELPS BY SIMON BRUTY
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SI IMAGING
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COURTESY OF BOCOG (MEDALS)
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BOCOG/GETTY IMAGES (RIBBONS)
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QI HENG/XIHUA PRESS/CORBIS
PHOTO
GÉRARD RANCININ
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SIMON BRUTY
TWO PHOTOS
MICHAEL O'NEILL
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WALTER IOOSS JR.
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HEINZ KLUETMEIER
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COURTESY OF BOCOG