*Aussies set to open Games with a bang*
--------------------------------------- 

By Kevin Stevens 
SportsTicker Contributing Editor 

SYDNEY, Australia (Ticker) -- A lavish opening ceremony followed
by thundering fireworks will signal the official opening of the
2000 Summer Games on September 15. 

But for the hosts, who have spent six year's preparing for the
world's biggest sporting celebration, the party won't really
begin until an Australian claims the country's first gold medal.

They might not have a long wait. 

The next day, the first medals to be handed out in Sydney will
be in the women's triathlon, and not only is Michellie Jones
penciled in as the favorite, but the prospect of an Australian
sweep has the sport's crazed country giddy with anticipation. 

Adding significance to the day, the winner will cement her place
in the sport's history as triathlon -- a grueling event that
takes athletes through a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike
ride and 10-kilometer run -- makes its official Olympic debut. 

"With this being Australia, they picked triathlon as their
opening event because they thought they would kick everybody's
butt," Canadian team coach Barrie Shepley told the Canadian
Press. 

"They want to start off with a couple of medals to get the party
going in their home country." 

Jones, a savy veteran who underlined her gold-medal credentials
with a World Cup win over the same Olympic course in April, will
lead the plunge into Sydney Harbour near the city's landmark
Opera House chased by teammates Nicole Hackett, the reigning
world champion, and Loretta Harrop, winner of the 1999 world
title. 

Canada's Carol Montgomery, second to Hackett at the World
Championships in Perth, and New Zealand's Rina Hill, the only
women other than Jones to collect two World Cup wins this
season, are both capable of throwing a wet-blanket on Aussie
party plans. 

The biggest threat is likely to be provided by the 34-year-old
Montgomery, also a world-class runner who will race in the
10,000 meters 11 days later, becoming the first Canadian to
compete in two different sports at the same Olympics. 

"I'm focusing more on the triathlon because I know that's where
my chances are of getting a medal," she said.  "But I love to
run.  That's why I'm attempting to do two." 

Where the U.S. women figure into the medal picture is unclear. 

Siri Lindley and Barb Lindquist both have won World Cup races
this season but neither will be in Sydney after failing to
qualify for a spot on the American team. 

In their absence, U.S. medal hopes will rest with Joanna Zeiger,
Jennifer Gutierrez and Sheila Taormina. 

The trio has produced some solid, if unspectacular, results this
season. Zeiger reached the World Cup podium twice, with second
and third place finishes, while Gutierrez also had a third and
Taormina showcased her potential with a respectable
seventh-place finish at the World Championship. 

But there is concern the U.S. may not have its strongest team in
Sydney, especially with Lindley and Lindquist displaying superb
form in the lead up to the Olympics, their wins coming in two of
the three last World Cups. 

A day after the women's race, the men will take the spotlight
with the Aussie trio of Peter Robertson, Craig Walton and Miles
Stewart looking to keep the party going and give the hosts a
sweep of the triathlon gold medals. 

Robertson, who like Jones claimed a confidence-boosting World
Cup victory on the Olympic course earlier in the year, will go
to the start line as the slight favorite in a race that is seen
as much more wide open than the women's. 

There also has been talk of a possible podium sweep in the men's
event, but much of it has come from the Gold Coast and the
British camp, where five-time world champion Simon Lessing, last
year's overall World Cup winner Andrew Johns and Tim Don, the
1998 world junior champion, are training. 

Lessing's sparkling resume may mark him out as Britain's
dangerman, but the person to watch could well be the on-form
Johns, who crossed second to Robertson in the Olympic test event
and wrapped up his preparation with a victory in the World Cup
finale in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Reigning world champion Olivier Marceau of France, 1999 world
champion Dmitry Gaag of Kazakhstan and New Zealand's Hamish
Carter, the 1998 World Cup winner, also could have a say in the
medals. 

Hunter Kemper, Ryan Bolton and Nick Radkewich will carry the
American flag but will find the going tough in this field of
triathlon heavyhitters. 

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