Going for gold The XXVIII Olympics begins where it all started this week, in Athens. The Opening Ceremony takes place next Friday, although competition actually begins on Wednesday with the Football minus any GB side of course.

I love the Olympics. I will sit in front of the box and watch sports (and sometimes non-sports) that you couldn't normally pay me to watch, all day and night. It's amazing isn't it, how suddenly Archery can become exciting if we have a hope of winning a gold medal?

The BBC always do a wonderful job of covering the Olympics but this year I will have to rely on their internet coverage as I am here in a world that only includes America, which is why it has amazed me that the media coverage here has been almost non-existent. A couple of the cable channels have been warming up to it, but there has hardly been a peep out of the main networks, unless you include security threat updates and the constant reporting on the overpaid Team USA Basketball squad.

In a country that will win medals for fun (97 at Sydney 2000) one would have thought the Olympic Games would be a topic on everyone's lips, but it's not. Iraq, the Nations security, the forthcoming election in 3 months time and Baseball still dominate the media. Very little mention of potential heroes like Michael Phelps, Shawn Crawford and Courtney McCool.

So, I will watch NBC's coverage for the odd mention of a British name and be in constant touch with the internet to find out how our boys and girls are doing. These are the names to watch:

Paula Radcliffe - marathon
Darren Campbell - 100m & 200m
Beth Tweddle - gymnastics
Craig Fallon - judo
Matthew Pinsent, James Cracknell, Steve Williams & Ed Coode - rowing, coxless four
Ben Ainslie - sailing
Leon Taylor & Peter Waterfield - diving, 10m synchronised pair.
Georgina Harland - modern pentathlon
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