Yugoslav athletes perform modestly at Sydney Olympics

Fireworks light up Sydney during the closing ceremony

SYDNEY, Oct 2 (Tanjug) - The closing days of the XXVII Olympics brought immense joy to Yugoslav athletes, and made up for the bad impression at the initial stages of the competition. The Yugoslav Olympic team won 3 medals - one gold, one silver, and one bronze.

The volleyball team outdid itself, winning Yugoslavia's only gold medal.

Shooter Jasna Sekaric once again confirmed the reputation of a great athlete. She won her 4th Olympic medal, thus becoming one of Yugoslavia's most successful Olympic athletes of all times.

The water polo team secured the bronze quite confidently. However, the medal, which is going to be kept at the Yugoslav Olympic Committee, did not satisfy the players. Their quality, and performance in Sydney should have brought them a more distinguished trophy.

Other Yugoslav athletes performed variously. Most of them took the Olympic games to be a tourist trip to a distant continent, rather than a serious competition.

Among those making an excellent impression were 5,000 and 10,000m runner Olivera Jevtic, walker Aleksandar Rakovic and swimmer Vladan Markovic.