Underdogs shine in Athens.

(From The Korea Herald)

This is the second of a three-part series wrapping up the 2004 Athens Olympics. - Ed.

By Lee Sun-young With the Olympic flame extinguished in Athens, the spectacle and drama of the 2004 Olympic Games are still vivid for many as they recall its most glorious moments. Throughout the 16 days of competition, the global audience was once again reminded that in sports, nothing is certain.

From the wrestling mat to the diving board, there were countless champions this summer that were given little chance to succeed prior to the Games. In the run-up to the Olympics, The Korea Herald ran a piece about some of the promising stars to look out for. Some did their best to prove it wasn't all just hype, while others made a disgraceful exit from the Olympic competition. The following is a brief synopsis of the winners and losers at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The dawn of the Asian era In the medals race, China and Japan signaled a new era for Asian nations. With the next Summer Games set to take place in Beijing in 2008, Asian countries gave a mere glimpse of what is to become - the end of American and Russian dominance at the Olympics.

China finished second behind the United States, with 32 golds and 63 medals overall and Japan wound up fifth winning 16 golds and 37 medals, both marking their best Olympic performances ever. China's impressive display and Japan's resurgency turned the Athens Olympics into an "Asian Games," as described by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.

Phelps shines in the water In the swimming pool, Michael Phelps became the poster boy for the Athens Games. Few would argue that the 19-year-old American swimmer was the biggest star of this summer's Olympics. Phelps set one world record, four Olympic records and claimed six gold and two bronze medals. Although Phelps fell short of breaking Mark Spitz's record gold medal haul in the pool, his achievements deserve to be lauded simply for the fact that he swam 17 times in seven days, in what is generally regarded to be a far more intense competition than what Spitz experienced in 1972. Ian Thorpe of Australia, Phelps' undisputed rival, proved that his five gold medals four years ago at home in Sydney were no fluke by edging Phelps and Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands in the men's 200-meter freestyle, in the event aptly titled "the race of the century." With Kosuke Kitajima's breaststroke double leading the charge, Japan had its best Olympic swimming performance in decades with three golds, one silver and four bronze.