2000 The Second Modern Nemead

1 The cover of the program for the second modern games.

2 The tent over the locker room early on the morning of June 3, 2000.

3 LaGrand Nielsen, in cap, now 92 years old, prepares for the first race with fellow athletes including, center, Georgios Korkas. In the rear at the left Starter Theodosios Zavitsas puts on his white “himation..”

4 Judge Kostas Lafkiotes is helped with his “himation” by Stephen Miller while Judge Tryphon Manziorοs watches.

5 Slave Antonis Kalkounias carries a supply of palm branches through the tunnel to the stadium track.

6 As crowd gathers Stephen Miller gives instructions for opening ceremony roles to Minister of Culture, Theodore Pangalos, and U.S. Ambassador Nick Burns. To the right of Pangalos is Corinthian Governor Angelos Manolakis, and to his left Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture, Lina Mendoni.

7 Part of the staff ready to leave the locker room for the tunnel and the stadium. From the left: Slave Spyros Tanaras with palm branches, Starter Theodosios Zavitas, Judges Alberto Benvenuti and Ioannes Malakos, and Herald James Herbst.

8 Starter Theodosios Zavitsas leads the procession out of the tunnel followed by Athanasios Diamantopoulos (left) and Tryphon Manzioros.

9 A local athlete who has brought the flame into the stadium, passes the torch on to U.S. Ambassador Nick Burns while the Mayor of Nemea, Nikos Papaioannou watches.

10 U.S. Ambassador Nick Burns hands the torch on to Minister of Culture Theodore Pangalos while Robert Berdahl, Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley watches.

11 Minister of Culture Theodore Pangalos lights the Nemea Altar which is tended by Slave Kostas Papoutses. In the background are the Choirsof OTE and of Corinth whose Maestro, Alexandros Panayiotopoulos is just behind the smoke. They will now sing the Olympic Hymn.

12 After the Olympic Hymn, Mastro Panayiotopoulos accepts the thanks of Stephen Miller.

13 Judges John Carney and Panayiotes Papadopoulos lead the athletes of the first race from the tunnel to the track. Between and behind them is 92-year-old LaGrand Nielsen, and (in yellow) Slave Georgios Nikitakos.

14 Starter Theodosios Zavitsas, who discovered the ancient starting line 26 years before, takes his place.

15 The start of Race #4 with, in Lane #4, the Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, Robert Berdahl. Slave Antonis Kalkounias (yellow) watches from the end of the starting line.

16 Stephen Miller enters the stadium for Race #6 cheered on by “mastigophoros” (= peace officer) Christos Saisanas. The next athlete waiting in the tunnel is Manuel Bonnet. Ambassador of Columbia to Greece.

17 As in 1996, Stephen Miller gets out to a quick start, but will finish 13th behind his 11 competitors as well as the excavation photographer who was running down the track, backwards. In the far lane is Gurdip Bedi, Ambassador of India to Greece.

18 Losers in Race #6 from the U.S.A. (Stephen Miller), Columbia (Manuel Bonnett), India (Gurdip Bedi), and Denmark (Hans Grunnet).

19 The start of Race #7. Fourth from the left is U.K. Ambassador David Madden who finished second, but returned in 2004 to win.

20 The participants in Race #8 gather in the passageway between the locker room and the tunnel in preparation to take their oath. They are flanked by Judges John Carney and Panayiotes Papadopoulos. Second from the left is David Jacobs, Ambassador of South Africa to Greece.

21 Ambassador David Jacobs of South Africa is about to enter the stadium track from the tunnel.

22 Judge Ioannes Nakis corrects the toe position of Ambassador David Jacobs of South Africa.

23 The athletes in the First Race for Women in 2000 with its winner, Ann Faulk.

24 Participants in the Second Race for Women at the starting line. Kirsten Legallet and Irene Miura watch the slave cock the arm of the starting mechanism.

25 Irene Miura, winner of the Second Race for Women receives her ribbon from Judge George Bonnis, resident of Vancouver and native of Nemea, while Slave Kostas Papoutses watches. At left is University of California alumna Robin Frazier.

26 Irene Miura with the other participants in the Second Race for Women, from left: Kirsten Legallet, ?, ?, ?, Suzanne Legallet, Ann Buchanan, ? . Robin Frazier. ? In the background, Slaves Kostas Papoutses and Elias Skazas.

27 Runners during the Third Race for Women. Nearest is Sidne Long, daughter of Tom Long to whose memory the fountain at the entrance to the stadium is co-dedicated.

28 Nikos Papaioannou, Mayor of Nemea, draws lane assignment from helmet while U.S. Ambassador Nick Burns waits his turn.

29 Judge Kostas Mantzioros watches as Slave Stephen Miller directs U.S. Ambassador Burns to his lane at the starting line.

30 The race is on! In Lane 4 (B2) is U.S. Ambassador Nick Burns and next to him Mayor Papaioannou while future members of the Society’s Board of Directors, Tasos Tagaras and George Kostouros are in lanes 7 and 8 (Δ1 and 2), respectively.

31 The winner is George Chronis, antiquities guard at Mycenae. To his left are Mayor Papaioannou, Tasos Tagaras, U.S. Ambassador Burns, ??, ??, Georgios Kostouros, and Thomas Athanasakas. To the right of the victor is the Corinthian regional representative, Andreas Panagopoulos.

32 Hung-Yu Liu from Taiwan wins the next race for young men.

33 Two students from Berkeley run: Jorge Bravo in the left lane and Yannis Lolos in the third lane. In the far right land is Yannis’ twin, Perikles.

34 Barbara Rieger, member of the Nemea Excavations staff, wears her ribbon and holds her palm branch of victory in a race with young women, including, at left, Kelly Ilniki, former Nemea Excavations staff member, and Jennifer Mirner.

35 Judge George Katsoulis, resident of Oakland, California, and native of Nemea, with group of runners from the International Olympic Academy in the passageway between the locker room and the tunnel which they are about to enter.

36 The winner, Amanda Schweinbenz from Canada, holds her palm of victory with assistance from other members of the International Olympic Academy, from right to left, Anke Bohne (Germany), Galina Ragozina (Russia), Beatriz Garcia (Spain), Parissa Safai (Canada), Amanda, Paraskevi Salepi (Greece), Orsolya Pinter (Hungary), and Sophia Varkirtzi (Greece). Next are the sisters Carolina and Rosario Bonett from Columbia. At the far left are Athena Trakadas and Tanya Szafranski, students from the University of California at Berkeley.

37 Judge Wolfgang Decker presents young victor with his palm branch.

38 Victory shared.

39 At the start of the Footsteps of Herakles race, Herald Kostas Bonnis and Judges Athanasios Diamantopoulos and Anastasios Tagaras are on the steps of the ancient Temple of Herakles at Kleonai.

40 The race is on as the runners, still bunched together from the start, run through vineyards on their way to Nemea.

41 The winner of the Footsteps of Herakles in the women’s category: Kelly Ilnicki, former Nemea staff member.

42 Effie Miller and Anthi Nikitakou in the locker room prepare crowns of wild celery for the closing, crowning ceremonies.

43 The staff of the closing ceremonies waiting to go through the tunnel. Slave Vasilis Papoutsis; Judges (Ambassadors) Stephen Martin (Australia), Algirdas Dambrauskas (Lithuania), Milan Dubcek (Slovakia), David Hutton (Canada), and David Jacobs (South Africa); Priests (white), Professors Stephen Miller and Panos Valavanis.

44 At the closing ceremonies, the prize table with crowns of wild celery await the winners. In the center rear, the Priest Panos Valavanis and the Priestess Marcia Barbara Cecilia Convarrbias (Ambassador of Chile).

45 The winners with their ribbons and palm branches wait to be called from the tunnel to the crowning ceremonies.

46 Canadian Amanda Schweinbenz has just been crowned by Judge David Hutton, the Canadian Ambassador to Greece.

47 On ancient Greek soil a Turkish victor, Aksel Gürcan, proudly wears the wild celery crown presented by the Judge, Armen Petrosyan, Ambassador of Armenia.

48 As the sun sets on the 2000 Nemean Games, the fire on the altar is extinguished with the earth of Nemea by Ambassadors from Slovakia, Armenia, Morocco, Lithuania, Chile, India, South Africa, Canada, Spain, Australia, and Professors from Greece and the U.S.A.

49 In 2005, after the completion of his tenure as the Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, Robert Berdahl gave this interview to a campus magazine, The Graduate. Much of the interview had to do with his participation in the Second Nemead in 2000.