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August 17, 2004 6:29 pm

Games return to village where they began

By Tom Weir

USA TODAY

OLYMPIA, Greece - The theme of the Athens Olympics is ``Welcome Home,'' but only Wednesday will the Games return all the way home, to their ancient birthplace.

The tiny village of Olympia is where from 776 B.C. to 393 A.D. Greek athletes vied for their nation's greatest prize, the ``kotinos,'' a crown of olive branches.

Olympia's role in the modern Olympics always has been symbolic, as the place where the Olympic torch relay begins, and where modern Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin had his last wish fulfilled, with the burial of his heart beneath a marble column.

But Wednesday, the Games return to the original Olympic Stadium with two events, the men's and women's shot put. No matter who emerges with the gold medals, history will be made, because no woman was ever allowed to compete in the shallow, sun-baked bowl of the stadium.

``It's really special because we now are really part of the history of this place,'' U.S. shot putter Kristin Heaston says. ``When is it ever going to happen again?''

Adds U.S. gold medal contender Adam Nelson, ``It's a once-in-a-lifetime situation. ... To go back there is going to cause goose bumps.''

There's nothing picturesque about the stadium's hard dirt floor, but it has a beckoning effect and sets in motion the feet of nearly everyone who steps upon it. Last weekend, two potbellied male tourists from Australia stripped off their shirts in the noon sun and broke into stride. Several sets of parents from all over the world could be seen explaining the setting's history to their children before taking off on a family trot.

Jean Pierre Hamel, a teacher from the Normandy region of France, finished a lap with his 12-year-old daughter, Camille, and said, ``It is important to run in the footsteps of history.''

There will be a Spartan element to Wednesday's events. No bleachers have been installed on the stadium's grassy slopes for spectators. There will be 10,000 fans for the morning qualifying, then another 10,000 for the late-afternoon finals. Seating will be provided only for dignitaries.

The path to the original Olympic Stadium will take spectators and competitors past the ruins of the Temple of Zeus, which once housed a 40-foot statue that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Just outside the stadium is what remains of the Temple of Hera, where the ``disk of the sacred truce'' symbolized the halt of all wars for the ancient Games.

``It is what the Olympics are about,'' says Nelson, who along with teammates John Godina and Reese Hoffa has a chance to be part of a U.S. medals sweep. ``The stadium at Olympia was home for all these warriors to come and compete and show all their skills. It transcended all their problems: political, religious, or anything else of the time.''

But many among Olympia's 1,200 residents have a less tranquil view of Wednesday's invasion by fans, who will make the 200-mile drive from Athens. Georgia Kollias, a cook at the Aegean restaurant, says: ``I do not think Olympia can feed all of these people. It is just going to be one busy day. I think I will drink more coffee than ever before.''

Bemused by all the attention for Olympia is bookstore owner Apostolos Kosmopoulos, 59, who says that for decades most Greeks didn't appreciate the history of this cypress-filled valley.

Kosmopoulos knows that history well, because his father, grandfather and great-grandfather all served as mayors of Olympia. His great-grandfather Angelos also worked for the German archeologists who in 1875 began excavating the Olympic ruins, which had been devastated by 15 centuries of flooding and several earthquakes.

``When I was young and I went to visit in the middle part of Greece, nobody knew where Olympia was,'' Kosmopoulos says.

Olympia, he says, did not become an international tourist destination until the 1960 release of the movie ''Never on Sunday.'' That film was about a Greek prostitute and had nothing to do with the Olympics, but the tourism that followed made Olympia's people realize it was time to build their city's first paved road.

Kosmopoulos predicts that on that two-lane road leading into Olympia's eight-block business strip ``it will be a mess.''

In a wise move worthy of Aristotle, tickets to the shot put were offered to all of Olympia's citizens, and there was no charge for any of the 20,000 tickets issued. Had the tickets been sold, the Games' organizers likely would have faced a confrontation with residents of a city that has clung to the eroding ideals of Olympic amateurism.

Olympia often has found itself at odds with Olympic commercialism, and its people are hard to ignore because their town is where the prelude for every Games has been enacted since the first torch relay to a host city in 1936.

Greek actresses perform a flame-lighting ceremony based on ancient ritual, and then young men from Olympia are the primary torchbearers for the first few miles. But in 1984, when organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics began the now-common custom of selling the opportunity to run with the torch, there was a brief threat not to allow the flame to leave Olympia.

``My husband ran with the torch two times, and he got to keep the torch, for free,'' Kollias tells a U.S. customer at her restaurant. ``That is very important. He did not have to pay, like now, and that is something your people started.''

But in a move many Olympians suspect was aimed at reining in these self-proclaimed protectors of Olympic traditions, the Greek government restructured local political borders two years ago. Olympia was folded into a regional government with 22 other villages, leaving it with little clout.

``There is no one from outside the borders of Olympia who can feel the same way as we do about the Olympics,'' says Nontas Galanis, who owns a jewelry store.

The torch ceremony helps Olympians pass that Olympic spirit from generation to generation, Galanis says. His uncle Kristos ran on the first relay in 1936, and Galanis carried the torch in 1976, 1980 and 1984. Says Galanis, ``We see things differently here.''

When the Olympia venue received final approval from the International Olympic Committee last December, Athens organizing chief Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said, ``All of us are very moved and excited by this decision.''

But Galanis contends his town nearly was excluded. ``The decision to bring one of the sports here was taken at the last moment,'' Galanis says. ``They were saying, `Oh, you have enough in Olympia. You have the history.' I think we would not have this sport if we were not arguing all together.''

With that battle won, Galanis smiles contentedly and says, ``The point now is the Olympics are here, and the whole world will see Olympia.''

U.S. shot putter John Godina is glad one Olympic tradition from ancient times won't be observed - having athletes compete in the nude. Says Godina, ``Most of the fans are very thankful for that.''

(Contributing: USA TODAY reporter Dick Patrick)

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