ATLANTA, Aug. 4 -- The largest Olympics in history came to a close Sunday night with a call for the athletes of the world to gather again in Sydney four years from now and embark upon the second century of the planet's most significant sporting carnival. At the end of the trouble-plagued Atlanta Games, International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch stopped short of calling them the best ever -- as has been his custom since he took the job in 1980 -- referring to them, instead, as 'exceptional.' The first 100 years of the Olympics ended on a muggy night in the traditional manner, with the dousing of the flame that had burned for 17 days and with the passing of the five-ringed flag from those who have held it for the past four years to those who will keep it for the next four. And the athletes remaining in Atlanta entered Olympic Stadium in one large group as has become the norm for the closing ceremonies. The most anticipated portion of the ritual, however, was the brief speech made by Samaranch before the two-hour entertainment spectacle that followed. 'Well done, Atlanta,' Samaranch said as he began his remarks. 'The dream has come true for Atlanta, which will be forever an Olympic city. 'It has come true for an absolute record number of athletes and spectators who have enjoyed the fabulous competitions.' Samaranch then turned to the central point of the Atlanta Games, the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park on the morning of July 27 that resulted in two deaths.
'While we celebrate the success of these Games, we have not forgotten the tragic explosion of last week, nor have we forgotten the victims, their families and their friends. 'Our thoughts also go back to the tragedy of Munich, where 11 Israeli athletes were killed during the Olympic Games in 1972,' he said. 'No act of terrorism has destroyed the Olympic movement and none ever will.' Samaranch then began thanking everyone from the president of the United States to all those who volunteered -- more than 50,000 of them -- to help put on the Games. Finally, he came to the point that had been a subject of debate for days. After the IOC called a meeting with the organizers early in the Olympics and demanded an immediate improvement to the transportation problems that plagued the Games throughout, Samaranch was pressured by other IOC members not to call these Olympics, 'the best ever.' And he did not. 'Our warmest congratulations and very special thanks,' he said, 'go to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympics Games, thanks to whom these Centennial Games -- the Games of universality and unity -- have indeed been most exceptional. 'I declare closed the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and, in accordance with our tradition, I call upon the youth of the world to assemble four years from now at Sydney, Australia to celebrate with us the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, the first Games of the new millennium.' Some of the athletes who will be in Sydney were also in action on the final day of the Atlanta Games as the final 18 gold medals were awarded. The last of them went to the women's basketball team from the United States, which defeated Brazil in the gold medal game, 111-87. That brought the host nation's final gold total to 44, its most since Los Angeles in 1984, and its overall medal count to 101. Nevertheless, that was the lowest total of medals for the country at the top of the table since the Soviet Union won 99 in 1972 at Munich. Russia finished these Games with 26 golds, but Germany had the second largest collection of gold, silver and bronze with 65. Russia had 63 total medals, China had 50 and Australia 40. Atlanta's Olympics were by far the most equitable in history with 79 countries winning at least one medal and 53 nations winning at least one gold. And organizers said Sunday 8.5 million tickets were purchased by 3 million people. More people watched competitions involving women at these Games than watched the entire Barcelona Olympics four years ago. The first gold medal on the final day of the Games went to Josia Thugwane of South Africa in the closest men's marathon in Olympic history. Only eight seconds separated the top three finishers -- Thugwane, South Korea's Lee Bong-Ju and Kenya's Eric Wainaina. No black athlete from South Africa had ever won an Olympic event and it was that country's first track gold since its return to the international sporting arena following its 28-year ban. 'I dedicate this win to my country and my president,' said Thugwane, who is a mineworker. 'Our (nation's) problems are over, we are free to run and free to be part of the international community. We are back in the fold.'
