Tears, smiles dominate

U.S. memories include expected success and a surprising failure.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Little things meant a lot in Athens: a tear from Mia Hamm's eye, or a smile across Jennie Finch's mouth, was as good as gold.
A pair of abandoned wrestling shoes, size 13, signaled good-bye for Rulon Gardner. A track baton, about a foot long, turned to kryptonite as the U.S. women's 400-meter relay team fumbled the last medal hopes of Marion Jones.
These snapshots make up the bigger picture in Athens: 17 days of emotion and excitement in the birthplace of the games, 108 years after the first modern Olympiad in the same Mediterranean city. Athletes followed the ancient footsteps of a doomed distance runner from Marathon, or collected medals in arenas long reserved for Olympic ghosts.
The Americans embraced the history and made a little themselves: They broke the 100-medal mark to eclipse their team goal. With 103 medals they topped the Athens medal chart and enjoyed their largest haul since Barcelona's 108 in 1992.
But they left Greece with more than just a cache of precious metals.
"It's not about the medal," said Hamm, a two-time gold medalist making her third Olympic trek. "It's about the journey."
Incredible journey
For the U.S. team, the journey began once Michael Phelps plunged into the Olympic pool. When he finally toweled off for the last time, the 19-year-old had a record-tying eight medals -- six gold, two bronze in the first eight days of the games.
The classy youth demonstrated grace beyond his years by surrendering his spot in the 400-meter medley relay final to his teammate and top rival, Ian Crocker.
Even Mark Spitz, whose record seven golds in a single games survived Phelps' onslaught, never turned that trick. Crocker won, too, as the U.S. swimmers ruled the Olympic pool, winning 12 golds and 28 medals.
Phelps led a bright new generation of U.S. Olympians: softball pitcher Finch and sprinter Justin Gatlin, soccer's Heather O'Reilly and basketball player Diana Taurasi, boxer Andre Ward and gymnast Carly Patterson -- gold medal winners all.
The old guard, some ending long Olympic journeys, left their successors a legacy. Hamm, Joy Fawcett and Julie Foudy retired after winning their golds in an overtime thriller. Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes won their third straight basketball gold; Staley won't be back, either.
Gardner, who settled for a bronze after nearly dying two years ago after a snowmobile accident, provided an unforgettable tableau: tears streaming down the face of the super heavyweight as he deposited his shoes in the middle of the mat and walked away from his sport for good.
Track excellence
The Americans dominated at the track, collecting an Athens-best 24 medals. Even better, none were caught using banned substances in the year of the burgeoning BALCO scandal.
The drug-free Americans weren't ugly, either. The U.S. athletes, after getting pre-Olympic instructions on proper decorum, behaved perfectly -- as did their hosts. The Athens Games were a success by acclamation, as pretty as the blue skies above the Acropolis each sunny morning.
"It was incredible to come in here, to be so safe, to feel confident and relaxed," said Phelps, who stayed around an extra week for the closing ceremony. "I can't say how great the city of Athens has been."
The ancient city did suffer some modern Olympic woes -- doping problems (a record high of 23 cases, with six medals stripped), a gymnastics scoring mistake that left gold medalist Paul Hamm twisting in the wind, and angry protests over the later-canceled visit of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Few, however, could dispute International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge's contention that the games were "splendid" and the security just "flawless."
But the downers were overshadowed by the only-in-Athens moments, where the athletes of the 21st century enjoyed a bit of time travel.
In Ancient Olympia, where the games were born 28 centuries ago, American Adam Nelson won a silver in the shot put. Following the route first run by Pheidippides in 490 B.C., U.S. marathon runner Deena Kastor captured the bronze, running her last lap around the marble Panathinaiko Stadium that hosted the 1896 games.
The games ended in the new Olympic Stadium, the 72,000-seat facility designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, with a closing ceremony attended by thousands of Olympic athletes from around the world. The journey to Beijing is next for many of them.
"It's amazing and it never gets old," said soccer player Kristine Lilly, herself a three-time Olympian. "It's an experience I'll cherish forever."