48 hours: Great moments from Olympics past

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The Olympic Oath, taken publicly for the first time at the 1920 Antwerp Games, said: "In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams."

Watching Sky Sport's Olympic Champions Week , one can only wonder if these ideals remain for today's Olympians.

This has been a fabulous series - a look back at some of the great moments in the Olympic Games, but, sadly, it raises questions about how many were 100 per cent kosher.

The spectre of drug-taking and the accusations flying back and forth have dimmed some of the enthusiasm for the splendid build-up to the XXVIII Games in Athens.

But, putting aside any doubts the performances of athletes like Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis, Flo Jo, Marion Jones and that huge Eastern Bloc contingent might stir, this has been a fine recap of some of the very best from the Olympics.

The first athlete to be drug-tested was outstanding Australian middle-distance runner Ron Clarke at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

Clarke, unbeatable against the stopwatch, struggled in man-to-man combat and managed just one Olympic medal - bronze over 10,000m in Tokyo in 1964. His test, in all probability, came because he lost rather than won. An odd approach to what has become a sorry tale.

There was scant coverage of the 1936 Berlin Games, but in the years since, television has put cameras on tracks, backpacks, wires and in places which don't bear thinking about. Who could forget those jerky black-and-white pictures of Yvette Williams' golden triumph in Helsinki in 1952?

The coverage of those Games more than half a century ago showed not only TV's limitations at that time but also the athlete's poor facilities.

One of the more poignant episodes told the story of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, of which there was - particularly for those countries which joined the US embargo - scant coverage. For the 81 countries that did turn up, these Games produced some outstanding performances.

Cuba won six boxing golds, including a third in a row for the great Teofilo Stevenson. On the track Scotsman Allan Wells showed white men can run. Seb Coe and Steve Ovett turned it on over 800m and 1500m and Daley Thompson completed a British four-gold sweep on the track with the first of his two decathlon triumphs.

Four years earlier in Montreal, there were other moments to savour, especially the coverage of the men's 5000m in which Dick Quax and Rod Dixon played their part to the extent one commentator awarded Dixon the bronze he went so desperately close to claiming.

There has been coverage of sports which, while not completely foreign to New Zealanders, are barely understood here. Handball, dressage, Canadian singles and pairs and modern pentathlon, have revealed their secrets.

There have been some other touches giving an insight to the other side of Olympic dreams. The story of a plodding and injured David Moorcroft in the 1984 Los Angeles 5000m final, in which John Walker finished eighth, was well told.

The Los Angeles Games coverage came up short, with all metric distances converted to something called feet and inches.

Overall, though, it has been an informed insight and one that will surely help to encourage huge viewing figures for the Athens Games in which New Zealand - in the top 50 on the all-time medals list - will look to add to their tally.

In an almost rugby-free weekend, the outstanding performer was referee Chris White, who controlled the Perth Tri-Nations with authority.

Apart from the times George Gregan was doing his best to run the show as the Boks again got late stage fright, White took a firm hand, especially when playing the advantage.

Unlike too many of his cohorts who drop their arm and then play advantage until they tire of it, White signalled throughout the period of advantage and left no one in any doubt.

Despite the Bledisloe Cup already being won, Saturday's All Blacks/Wallabies clash is set to be a cracker. Victory for the Blacks, with a bonus point, will wrap up another Tri-Nations.

High point

Seeing Mike Tyson sat on his backside by journeyman Danny Williams, giving real hope that Tyson might at last accept he is well beyond his use-by date.

Sadly, though, there is no long line of contenders to bring the glamour back to the controversy-ravaged heavyweight ranks.

Low point

The struggle by our hockey and basketball teams to find some consistent form in the final days of their Olympic preparations.