Athens

A return to Athens, the birthplace of the Games, features 201 teams, a record number, in an Olympics that honors both the present and past. The marathon traces the 1896 route from Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium. New sports include women's wrestling and new teams attending include Kiribati and Timor Leste. While several athletes face doping charges, American swimmer Michael Phelps sets a single-Olympics record with eight medals, including six gold. The U.S. softball team crushes the competition, outscoring all opponents 51-1 and the Argentinian men's soccer team gives up zero goals as it cruises to victory. In an upset, the U.S. men's basketball team is defeated by Argentina (led by NBA star Manu Ginobili) and has to settle for bronze. German kayaker Birgit Fischer becomes the first Olympian to win two medals in five different Games.