Introduction
Introduction
The 1996 summer Olympics, due to begin in Atlanta in July, will be the biggest and costliest ever. Nearly 11,000 athletes from 197 countries will compete in the $1.6 billion extravaganza. Organizers expect an astounding global TV audience of 3.5 billion people - more than half the Earth's population. And they anticipate none of the political boycotts that have marred the Games in recent years. But two perennial concerns remain: Many critics decry the drumbeat of commercialization surrounding the Games, and others worry about the use by some athletes of performance-enhancing drugs. For now, though, the mood is decidedly upbeat as the nation awaits the April 27 start in Los Angeles of the coast-to-coast, 15,000-mile Olympic torch relay.