Olympic Torch Leaves Athens
The Olympic Torch has been passed from Athens to torchbearers who will carry it the final miles to Sydney, Australia, home of the 2000 Games.Even the torchbearing, which began on May 10th in the ancient city of Olympia, has not escaped controversy. Sophie Gosper, the 11-year-old daughter of International Olympic Committee vice-president Kevan Gosper, was chosen as the controversial second runner in the relay from Olympia, taking the torch from Greek high jump champion Lambros Papacosta, in place of 15-year-old Yianna Souleles, a Greek-Australian girl originally expected to take the torch for the second leg. Kevan Gosper, her father, insists that no pressure was brought to bear on her selection, but admits that he did not remove her from consideration. The Hellenic Olympic Committee, already under IOC fire for slow preparations for the 2004 Athens Games, made the final choice. Was this an attempt to curry favor with the IOC? If so, it was a heavy-handed one.
| From Olympia to Athens, now the Torch for the 2000 Olympic Games travels into Guam and Oceania and on to Sydney. |
Apollo apparently did not approve of these shenanigans over what should be a modern sacred honor; the Olympic Torch failed to light due to a cloud over the sun at the crucial moment, despite a day hot enough to induce heat stroke in one band member earlier. The dress rehearsal of the ceremony the day before had produced a lit flame, which was kept overnight and was used to light the real torch.
Will the torch be returning to Athens for the 2004 Games? That's up to the IOC committee, which has already warned that Seoul could step in to host the Games if Greek efforts are not sufficient.
Prime Minister Costas Simitis has pledged renewed vigor in the preparations for the Athens Olympics. Now that the elections assured PASOK's hold on the government, most observers expect Greek preparations to move forward more smoothly than in the turbulent pre-election months.
