ATHENS — Footballers kicked off competition in the Athens Olympics yesterday, two days before the official opening, as another top sprinter received a doping ban and Serena Williams pulled out of the tennis tournament.
Hosts nation Greece was in action in the opening matches of both the men and women’s soccer and top Games officials proclaimed everything was in place for a great Olympics and athletes and visitors flew into the city in record numbers. But the Games lost another big name when women’s world 100 meters champion Torri Edwards was banned for two years after a positive drugs test. Three unnamed Russians also failed tests and were not named in the national Olympic team, Russian officials said.
In the opening women’s soccer games played around the country, hours after being proclaimed German Footballer of the Year, captain Birgit Prinz was a four-goal heroine as World Cup winners Germany routed China 8-0, Japan beat Sweden 1-0 and Brazil defeated Australia by the same score. The Greeks lost 3-0 to tournament co-favorites the United States, despite taking inspiration from the upset victory of the full men’s national team in the European Championships. The men’s soccer tournament, made up of under-23 teams with three overage players, got under way with the fancied Argentinian men scoring emphatic win.
Boca Juniors starlet Carlos Tevez struck twice within 60 seconds shortly before halftime as Argentina hammered Serbia and Montenegro 6-0.
In the other men’s games, Greece fought from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw with South Korea, Mexico drew 0-0 with Mali while Australia and Tunisia played to a 1-1 draw.
“Athens is ready,” said Games chief Gianna Angelopoulos, defying the many Cassandras who believed the Greek capital had left it too late to get stadiums built and transport in place. “The city is painted in Olympic colors. Our venues are ready and athletes are training for their events.”
Bringing the Games back to the land of their birth has meant accommodating the needs of some 10,500 athletes, 5,500 team officials and 21,500 followers from the media.
“Today we have record arrivals at the airport — about 500 aeroplanes and about 75,000 passengers,” said Greek government spokesman Theodoris Roussopoulos.
Security is a top priority for the organizers of the first Summer Olympics since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Angelopoulos said Athens had the “most comprehensive, best funded, best staffed security” of any Games.
