OLYMPICS NOTEBOOK

updated 5:55 p.m. ET Aug. 31, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - The Cameron Crazies would be hard-pressed to match this.

The gold medal match in women’s team handball between Denmark and South Korea had an atmosphere that could have rivaled a Duke college basketball game. Organized chants from Danish fans wearing Viking horns clashed with the rhythm of Koreans clapping thundersticks.

For good measure, the crowd included 25 or so members of the Danish navy in full sailor uniform, taking time away from their duties patrolling the waters around Greenland.

It also helped that, according to die-hard handball fans, the game was one of the most exciting in the sport’s history. It was tied after double overtime, so the gold medal had to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Denmark won 38-36.

After a five-minute intermission that featured can-can music on the arena sound system — have we not seen everything at these Olympics? — Danish goalie Karin Oernhoej Mortensen made two nice saves to give her country its third consecutive Olympic title.

She must have been inspired by those guys with the horns.

The game left players drained and fans exhausted. During the medal ceremony, two Danish players left the podium area to make a quick run to the cooler behind the bench to fetch bottles of water.

You’d never see that at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Picture perfect
U.S. runner Sanya Richards got the thrill of a lifetime when she posed for world-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz for the July issue of Vogue magazine.

When Richards got the call, she could hardly believe it. She left Austin, Texas, for the shoot on a beach in San Diego in April, posing for the photo spread that featured top American Olympians.

“She’s really powerful. Her presence is known,” Richards said after winning gold with the 1,600-meter relay team. “I was so happy to have met her.”

Richards wore a gold one-piece suit and posed with metal starting blocks buried under the sand, which were set up to make it look as if she was taking off toward the ocean.

Fencers Keeth and Erinn Smart, gymnast Allyse Ishino and discus thrower Suzy Powell also posed for the shoot.

Olympic memories
Steven Lopez will remember standing on the medals stand, his taekwondo gold medal hanging from his neck. Kristine Lilly won’t forget how the U.S. women’s soccer team cheered in the training room when the American men’s volleyball squad was on TV.

Everyone who visits the Olympics collects stories to tell to the people back home, and several American athletes shared their favorite recollections during a U.S. Olympic Committee wrapup news conference Sunday.

Softball pitcher Jennie Finch said her favorite moment, other than receiving her own gold medal, was being in the stands when the United States women’s soccer team won its gold medal in a dramatic 2-1 overtime defeat of Brazil.

“Seeing them on that podium, they’ve been such ambassadors for their sport,” Finch said.

And Michael Phelps, the swimmer who won eight medals in the pool? He also enjoyed seeing the American women win their gold. But he had a confession.

“It was the first soccer game I’ve ever been to,” he said.

Racy indeed
The women’s relay teams for Jamaica had more to worry about than their races. Their uniform tops were revealing — sleeveless on the left side, with just a thin strap for support.

The outfits were designed by Puma, and the athletes approved them before taking the track. The duds were on display when Jamaica’s 400-meter relay team won gold and the 1,600 team won bronze.

“With a suit like this, we have to win,” said Veronica Campbell, a member of the 400 team. “They were a bit exposing, but being on the track, we couldn’t worry about that. We had to get the job done.”

Big fat Greek wedding
Though the U.S. men’s volleyball team lost its bronze medal match against Russia, reserve outside hitter Gabe Gardner’s trip to Greece will end on a high note.

He’s getting married in Athens on Friday to Julie Fowler. They’ve been dating for five years, and he proposed on a beach in Puerto Rico in January.