Oly: Glittering Games start rekindles Greek pride

AAP General News (Australia)
08-14-2004
Oly: Glittering Games start rekindles Greek pride

By Michele Kambas

ATHENS, Aug 14 Reuters - Greek pride recovered with a vengeance today, after a spectacular
Olympics homecoming ceremony eclipsed the glare of a drugs probe involving Greece's top
two athletes - both Sydney Olympic medal winners.

Last night's opening ceremony was "magical", a "triumph" and a "dream", Greek newspapers
declared on their front pages about the three-hour pageant, which went off without a glitch.

"Athens is lighting up the world, it was a magical hour," Games chief Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki
told reporters after the ceremony. "We are Greek and tonight the world understood that
we have not only heritage, but also potential".

For Greeks, the breathtaking display, celebrating life, love and their ancient civilisation
beamed to four billion viewers across the world, was just the shot in the arm they needed,
even if doubts linger over the saga of sprinters Costas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou,
who are at the centre of a dope probe.

"We are a country with history, the ceremony showed all our history and the whole world
saw it," said Roxanni Ermi, an Athenian woman in her thirties. "Early on we had been criticised
for so many things, but now they can't say we are useless".

Others said the ceremony made them forget even for a while that Kenteris and Thanou
face suspension from the Games after failing to show up for a mandatory drugs test on
Thursday.

The duo were later involved in a motorcycle accident and are in hospital with slight
injuries, rendering their participation in any event far from certain.

"I did feel they should have been there, but the ceremony went so well it made me hope
their case has an equally good ending -- but really, today I am not thinking about them
much, I am just happy," said 24-year old Mina Zafeiropoulou.

Greek newspapers pumped the feel-good factor for all it was worth.

"It was a dream which erases the nightmare," said Ta Nea newspaper in an full front
page picture of a young performer from the ceremony.

"The triumph put sorrow aside," said the daily Eleftherotypia.

Employing some graveyard humour, a cartoon on its front page showed two characters
carrying a Greek flag and looking for Phevos and Athena, the two mascots of the Athens
Olympics.

"They've disappeared and they are needed for an anti-doping test," the cartoon said.

But Greeks served notice they would not forget the saga with the two sprinters easily.

"Stop the hide and seek. These are the two heroes who hurt us," declared the Espresso
tabloid on its front page under pictures of Kenderis and Thanou.

Reuters sp

KEYWORD: OLY NIGHTLEAD

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