Olympic Daily News: 15 September 2020

20 years ago today, the Sydney Olympic Games began. The stunning Opening Ceremony culminated with an unforgettable moment as Cathy Freeman lit the Olympic flame.

Take a look back at that iconic moment below, then comment your favorite moment from those Games.

Mo Farah on Tokyo 2020: “I’m still hungry”

Four-time Olympic gold Mo Farah told the BBC he will focus on the 10,000m at Tokyo 2020.

"I'm getting on a bit, and I think the key thing is to stick to one event and see what I can do," said Farah, who won back-to-back golds in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at London 2012 and Rio 2016.

A third straight gold medal in the 10,000m would be historic for the event.

"I'm definitely motivated, I'm still hungry and I still want it more," the 37-year-old said. "It would be history, and I've already made history in terms of long distance and I was the first British athlete to achieve back-to-back Olympics.”

U.S. surfers prepare for Tokyo waves in Texas

With the coronavirus pandemic limiting options, the Team USA surfers qualified to the Tokyo Olympic Games will participate in a training camp Tuesday and Wednesday in Waco, Texas, at the BSR Surf Resort wave pool.

Top-ranked surfer Carissa Moore is among those taking part and offered insight into the training experience, as compared to Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in California.

“The biggest difference is Kelly Slater’s pool, or the surf range, is about 45 seconds long, and the Waco pool is probably top five seconds,” Moore said, according to USA Today. “Kelly’s wave is pretty much kind of the same every time, and Waco has a lot of different settings, different waves that they can produce.”

The Waco pool uses adjustable air-pressured chambers to generate waves and will allow the team to simulate the types of conditions they expect to see in Japan.

Japanese baseball hopes to share gold with fans

Japan’s baseball team manager Atsunori Inaba, a 2008 Olympian, says he hopes his team can “share the joy of a win” with fans next summer and is scouting players for the team currently.

"I'm scouting a lot of players," said Inaba, according to Inside the Games. "Due to the COVID-19 limitations, I'm not showing up at the venues very often, but I watch a lot of television.

Japan is currently the top-ranked team in the world, ahead of the United States and South Korea. They won the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 title in November.

Trivia Tuesday

Yesterday, we asked about Austria’s only Olympic medal in tennis. That’s a feat accomplished in 1912 when Arthur Zborzil and Fritz Pipes took silver in men’s doubles.

Here’s today’s question.

Mo Farah won back-to-back 10,000m titles at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016. Who was the first man to win two-straight titles in the event?

1. Lasse Virén

2. Kenenisa Bekele

3. Emil Zátopek

4. Billy Mills

A ‘Daily Dog’ sure to put a smile on your face

Not to be dramatic, but we’d do anything for Elliot.