Georgia on their minds

EVEN in an all star cast of thousands, it is the name which leaps out of the programme. Michael Johnson is primed and ready to move to the starting line for an attempt on the 200 and 400 metres double, a feat which would stand Olympic history on its head.

To facilitate the feat the organisers have re arranged the track programme. To ensure that every exciting stride is captured for the watching millions, television networks have forced a further adjustment.

Michael Johnson is not athletics and athletics are not the Olympic Games, but rarely in modern years has one man dominated the conversation to the same extent in the countdown to the biggest of all sporting festivals.

Overtaken by misfortune at the Barcelona Games when hit by illness, Johnson has yearned for the supreme achievement of Olympic success. A month ago, it seemed as if nothing or nobody could deny him the that. Then along came Frankie Fredericks of Namibia and, suddenly, the American's 200 metres chances were being revised.

Fredericks, a man who languished in the shadow of his training partner, Linford Christie, for so long wasn't exactly unknown after some brilliant running in the World Championships in Gothenburg. Yet, his defeat of Johnson in Oslo last month - the first time the American had been beaten over the 200 in two years - proved that those who believed him to be unbeatable were wrong.

Gwen Torrance will also demand the public's attention when she takes on fellow American Gail Devers in a women's sprint elevated to unusual importance by the case histories of the two athletes.

Torrence, who has to drive a mere 25 miles from her home to arrive at the Olympic Stadium, carries the reputation of one of the sport's most outspoken celebrities, a label which took on an added dimension after she was disqualified in her World Championship 200 metres confrontation with Merlene Ottey in Gothenburg.

Now after failing by just a 100th of a second to get a 200 metres nomination in the American team and in the process forfeiting her right to defend the title she won in Barcelona she is channelling everything into her duel with the hugely popular Devers.

For Ireland, there is the attractive prospect of Sonia O'Sullivan chasing gold on the double when she seeks to build on European and World Championship successes by winning the 1,500 and 5,000 metres titles.

The threat of Algeria's Hassibba Boulmerka notwithstanding, there is nothing to suggest that O'Sullivan has anything to fear from those competing regularly on the grand prix circuit.

The bigger fear by far is that China's women will, for the second time in three years, deny her. Wang Junxia, reborn after a disappointing year in 1995, is an obvious threat, but it is also possible that some new names will emerge on the scene.

Yet, O'Sullivan has prepared well, judged the graph of her season to bring her to peak condition in Atlanta and strengthened by her experience in Stuttgart, believes she is a lot better equipped now to deal with the Chinese threat.

Swimming will be the first of the major sports to unveil its stars today and for millions of Americans, that means the chance of monitoring the remarkable career of Tom Dolan yet again.

Dolan, a chronic asthmatic, has defied the laws of medicine by building a career which has attracted much attention locally.

Unlike Spitz, winner of a record seven gold medals in Munich, Dolan is still in search of his first, but after setting a world record for the 400 metres freestyle, he is now a short priced favourite to land the 400 freestyle and individual medley double.

Gary Hall and the Russian Denis Pankratov are others likely to attract much of the attention in the Olympic pool over the next week.

The corresponding attraction in the women's programme, in which Michelle Smith represents Ireland's most realistic contender yet for a medal, will be the Chinese superstar Li Jinghi, who is expected to win both the 50 and 100 metres freestyle titles.

There will be a vast television audience, too, for the gymnastics programme which has achieved enormous popularity worldwide.

Names like Li Xiaoshuang (China) and Vitali Scherbo (Belarus) are likely to be captioned frequently on television screens and in the women's events, the pundits are backing Svetlana Khorkina (Russia), Lilia Podkopayeva (Ukraine) and American idol Shannon Miller for medals.

Lance Armstrong is the man who carries home hopes in the cycling road race championship and in boxing there is the prospect of a renewed American challenge to the supremacy which Cuba exerted in Barcelona four years ago.

Hector Vincent, Juan Hernandez, Ariel Hernandez and Felix Savon survive from the Cuban team which pulverised allcomers in Spain. But with the backbone provided by Antonio Tarver, David Reid and Nate Jones, Americans believe that their boxing squad can make a significant contribution to what they expect will be a record haul of Olympic gold.

The 1994 World Cup was the last major international event staged in the United States and it is surely of some significance that Brazil, who ultimately emerged successful on that occasion, will now include two members of that triumphant side, Aldair and Bebeto, in the soccer championship.

Thanks to the success of the World Cup, soccer enjoys its highest ever profile here and the combined talents of teams like Brazil, Argentina and Italy will come together to form an attractive package in a truly superb festival of sport.