The media had 2,450 days before the Olympics to speculate about what would happen in Sydney. They picked up on all of the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games' (SOCOG) blunders - from self-serving Committee members, to ticket sales fiascoes and international uproar about how many American and Japanese musicians would be in the Olympic marching band.

When the countdown reached zero and the Games began, 120 stockmen rode into the Olympic stadium on horseback to say "G'Day" to the world. It was a celebration of Australia's heritage - from the Aboriginal Dreamtime culture to the outback. Thousands of performers took part in the performance. The Olympic marching band alone was made up of 2,000 musicians and was the largest marching band ever to perform.

Australian Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman lit the flame at the opening and went on to win gold in her main event - the 400 meter race. This made her the only person in history to light the opening flame and go on to win gold at the same Olympics.

Japanese marathon runner, Naoko Takahashi, set a new benchmark when she won gold in the women's marathon. The Australian team's head coach, Chris Wardlaw, described Takahashi's performance as one of the greatest distance races he has ever seen. "She took on the field, just blew them away, and ran so aggressively. This was the benchmark race for future distance running," he said.

There were many highlights for the Japanese team including medals for softball, synchronized swimming, judo, wrestling and swimming. Australians were strong in beach volleyball, shooting, equestrian, water polo, cycling, archery and so on. The first women's 49-kg taekwondo gold medal was won by Australian Lauren Burns.

An estimated 200,000 overseas visitors came to Australia for the Games. The Aussies who bought tickets and went to Sydney came back with raving reports about the experience.

My brother, Darren, flew down to Sydney from the Gold Coast to meet two friends and watch the water polo and volleyball events. He said there was a terrific atmosphere around the city. "Huge television screens were set up for the public at Darling Harbor and there was continuous live music and entertainment, and a fireworks display every night," Darren said.

His friend, Kurt, said: "There was free train travel all over the city so we moved around a lot and joined in the celebrations. There were Olympic officials everywhere at Olympic Park directing people to different events."

It was fascinating to watch the physical prowess and incredible skill, focus and dedication of the competitors. Before they can win, Olympic athletes must train their minds to believe they can win. However, some competitors become desperate under pressure and choose to use illegal performance enhancing drugs.

The world's best female gymnast, 16-year-old Romanian Andreea Raducan, was stripped of her gold medal on Sept. 26 when a drug test showed she had taken cold medicine prior to her event. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) admitted the drug, which was given to her by her team doctor, would not have enhanced her performance. Drug testing is a complex issue. People are questioning whether the IOC may be punishing the wrong competitors.

Scientific research is underway to find out how to test for two of the most common illicit drugs - EPO and human growth hormone. The problem is we all have these substances in our body which makes them difficult to trace.

Some Australian scientists believe the IOC is taking a conservative approach toward doping because it is scared what the results will find. SOCOG Team Doctor Peter Larkins stated the Olympics rely heavily on the commercial support of the media and sponsors who do not want to be associated with a bad image. "If it was shown that there was a lot of drug use, you would expect those companies to withdraw and the Olympics' future would be very much under threat," he said.

Hopefully the spirit of the Games won't continue to be tarnished by doping. The Olympics is about more than just competing at an international level - it is about holding hands with other countries around the world to celebrate our great human achievements together.

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