All about Sydney 2000

• The Games

  New firsts
  Triathlon and taekwondo were two new additions to the Olympic programme. Susanthika Jayasinghe became the first Sri Lankan woman to win a medal, claiming bronze in the 200m, whilst Birgit Fischer earned two gold medals in kayaking to become the first woman in any sport to win medals 20 years apart. Women also took part in weightlifting and the modern pentathlon for the very first time.

  Comeback kings
  There were some wonderful comebacks in Sydney but none more so than the US softball team. After losing three games in a row, they regrouped and won gold in stirring fashion by beating each of the teams they had previously lost to.

  Memorable champions
  Ryoko Tamura had lost in the judo 48kg final in both Barcelona and Atlanta, but came back to win the gold medal in Sydney. Steven Redgrave gained sporting immortality by becoming the first rower to win gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games. In the 400m freestyle, 17-year old Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe won gold by breaking his own world record in front of a jubilant home crowd.

  Australian unity
  Cathy Freeman, the Australian athlete, had the honour of lighting the Olympic torch at the Opening Ceremony. This emotional moment helped symbolise the desire to reconcile with the Aboriginal populations of Australia. Ten days later, she won the 400m final before an ecstatic crowd.

  NOCs 199 (+ four individual athletes (IOA))
  Athletes 10,651 (4,069 women, 6,582 men)
  Events 300
  Volunteers 46,967
  Media 16,033 (5,298 written press, 10,735 broadcasters)

• All facts

  The Rapprochement of the two Koreas
  Korea (South Korea) and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) marched together under the same flag.

  Individual Athletes
  Four athletes from East Timor took part under the Olympic flag as individual athletes (IOA : individual Olympic athletes).

  Weightlifting
  The first gold medal for Colombia: Maria Isabel Urrutia, 35, Olympic champion weightlifting in the 69-75kg category.

  Taekwondo 
  The first medal won by Vietnam since it began competing in the Olympic Games in 1952: Hieu Ngan Tran, taekwondo, silver medallist in the women 49-57kg category. 

  Athletics
  The first Sri Lankan woman to win a medal: Susanthika Jayasinghe, bronze medallist in the 200m.
  
  

  New on the Programme
  Triathlon and taekwondo were two new additions to the Olympic programme.
  
  

  The EPO detection test
  For the first time, tests to detect EPO and blood tests were performed.
  
  

  Modern pentathlon for women
  Women took part in the modern pentathlon for the first time in Olympic history.
  
  

  Weightlifting for women
  Women took part in the weightlifting for the first time in Olympic history.
  
  

  The presence of WADA
  The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), an independent body, was at the Games to monitor all the procedures followed by the International Olympic Committee.

  Ceremonies
  Sydney, Olympic Stadium, 15 September 2000. Opening Ceremony, general view during the show "Nature".
  
  Official opening of the Games by: Sir William Deane, Governor General of Australia

  Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Cathy Freeman (athletics)

  Olympic Oath by: Rechelle Hawkes (hockey)

  Official Oath by: Peter Kerr (water polo)

• Emblem
  
  The emblem represents the figure of an athlete, using typically Australian shapes and colours. The boomerangs and suggestions of sun and rocks, together with the colours of the harbour, beaches and red interior invoke the unique Australian landscape and its original inhabitants. The flash which transforms the silhouette of Sydney Opera House into a trail of smoke from an Olympic torch recalls the emblem of Sydney’s Olympic candidature.
• Medal
  
  The customary symbols, including the Victory Goddess holding a winner's crown, are engraved on the obverse face. The Sydney Opera House, the Olympic torch and the Olympic rings are represented on the reverse. The designers are Australian: Woljciech Pietranik and Brian Thompson.
• Poster
  
  To reflect a diversity of styles and techniques, the Organizing Committee asked several poster designers from a wide range of different creative and cultural backgrounds to create posters. In total, 50 posters were published. The official poster was selected from creations presented in the following four categories: “Schoolchildren’s work”, “Sydney 2000 emblems”, “Mascots” and “Posters”.
• Mascot