Johnson was the sensation of the 1996 Atlanta Games. Appropriately wearing gold shoes, he became the first man to sweep the 200 and 400, winning the 200 with an astonishing world record of 19.32 seconds.

However, after injuring his right hamstring during his ballyhooed 200 showdown against Greene at the U.S. Olympic trials, Johnson abandoned his plans for another double, saying he would not run another 200 this year. He set the 400 world record of 43.18 at the World Championships in 1999.

Szabo, last year's female track athlete of the year, was the IAAF Grand Prix champion in 1999 and the first woman in track and field to surpass $1 million in earnings in one season. The Romanian also won half the $1 million Golden League jackpot last year.

"I don't think it's possible for me to repeat such a successful season," Szabo said.

Sotomayor, the powerful Cuban who was suspended at last year's Pan American Games after testing positive for cocaine, then reinstated this year, will be trying to regain the Olympic high jump title he won in 1992.

The only high jumper to clear 8 feet, Sotomayor competed at the 1996 Games with an inflamed knee. He cleared only one height and finished in a tie for 11th place.

Since being cleared for the Sydney Games, Sotomayor has embarked on a crash program.

"I'm a jumper who needs to compete to become motivated and to polish up my technique," he said.

The 40-year-old Ottey, also recently cleared of drug charges, has won seven Olympic medals, including silvers in the 100 and 200 in 1996, and five bronzes. The Jamaican was the last sprinter to beat Jones in a race, at 100 meters in 1997.

El Guerrouj, the world record-holder in the 1,500 and the mile, appeared primed to win the 1,500 in Atlanta four years ago. The Moroccan then clipped the heels of eventual gold medalist Noureddine Morceli of Algeria and fell, ultimately finishing last. Since then, el Guerrouj has run the three-fastest times in history, including 3:26.00

Greene failed to make the '96 U.S. team and cried uncontrollably while watching the 100-meter final from the stands in Atlanta. He has recovered from that traumatic experience to win two world titles and set the world record of 9.79.

Bubka, the world record-holder and six-time world champion in the pole vault who has been plagued by Achilles' tendon and back injuries, is making his final run at an Olympic gold medal at 36. The Ukrainian's only Olympic victory was in 1988. He no-heighted at the 1992 Games and injured an Achilles' while warming up for qualifying at the '96 Games.

Runyan, the first legally blind athlete to make a U.S. Olympic team, has a degenerative retina condition that allows her to see only peripherally. She has learned to cope with her shortcoming and has captivated fans with her determination. Runyan qualified for the U.S. team by finishing third in the 1,500 meters at the Olympic trials.

Freeman is the two-time world champion and 1996 Olympic silver medalist in the 400. Although unbeaten over the past two seasons, she has made as many headlines off the track as on it for her political views.

First, she accused Australian government leaders of insensitivity for refusing to apologize for the forced removal of aboriginal children from their homes during the 1950s and '60s. Then she was criticized for participating in a Nike TV ad that was viewed by some as exploiting the Aboriginal reconciliation process.

The plucky Devers has overcome a serious physical problem to become one of the sport's all-time greats. After surviving life-threatening Graves' Disease 10 years ago, which required chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Devers has won three world titles in the 100-meter hurdles and two Olympic gold medals in the 100-meter dash.

She almost doubled at the 1992 Games, leading the hurdles until the final barrier, where she fell and then stumbled across the finish line in fifth place. This time, she qualified only in the hurdles. Devers was fourth in the hurdles in '96.

Gebrselassie, the tactical-running Ethiopian who owns world records in the 5,000 and 10,000 and is unbeaten outdoors since 1996, won the 10,000 at the Atlanta Games with a remarkable 13:11.4 over the final 5,000 meters.

He had planned to double in the 5,000, but after finishing the 10,000 with bleeding feet over the hard track, he abandoned his plan to try to become the seventh Olympian to sweep the two distance races. The only 10,000 runners to win two straight Olympic titles were Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia (1948, 1952) and Lasse Viren of Finland (1972, 1976).

Dvorak came tantalizingly close to the coveted 9,000 point total in the decathlon in July 1999, setting the world record with 8,994 points. The Czech also won his second straight world title last year and already has scored 8,900 points this season.

During the track and field competition, there are sure to be other heroes and heroines, many of them unexpected, just as has happened at almost every Olympics.