By Gary Lemke and Sapa
Sydney - South Africa will be holding thumbs for double Olympic champion Penny Heyns when she defends her 100m breaststroke title at the Millennium Games here on Sunday.
Many critics have written off the multiple world record-holder, who so far this year has failed to display anything close to her brilliant form.
But her first race - in the heats on Sunday at about 2.20am SA time - could show whether Olympic spectators will see the all-conquering Heyns or a fading star.
The most accurate tell-tale sign of Heyns' form will be her comments afterwards, with her confidence being the key.
As long as she predicts she can go faster in Sunday evening's semifinal or Monday's final, then Heyns is a good bet to become the first female breaststroker to retain an Olympic crown.
If she starts bemoaning her timing or stroke, punters should consider hedging their bets with some cash on American Megan Quann, Japan's Masami Tanaka or even Heyns' compatriot Sarah Poewe.
But the former scenario is the likely one, especially with several of her team-mates predicting big things.
While Heyns will have to wait until Monday to claim her third Olympic gold alongside the 100m and 200m medals she won in Atlanta four years ago, Ryk Neethling could become the country's first medal winner on Saturday.
He takes on Australia's incredible Ian Thorpe and tough Grant Hackett in the 400m freestyle and then will hopefully join Brendon Dedekind, Roland Schoeman and Nic Folker in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay final.
Cyclist Garen Bloch will have a good chance in the 1000m time trial if the wind does not blow on Saturday evening, when he takes on French world record-holder Arnaud Tournant and Australia's Shane Kelly.
In the triathlon, Lizel Moore and Conrad Stoltz challenge for medals on Saturday and Sunday, with Stoltz the better chance in the men's race.
Shottist Frans Swart is another outside chance in the men's open trap, but much will depend on how sharp he is in the qualifying rounds to make sure he is in the top six finalists for Sunday afternoon.
In rowing, the men's and women's coxless pairs begin with the heats tomorrow while archers Jill Borresen and Kirstin Lewis also begin their quest.
Under-48kg judo contestant Tania Tallie faces a tough ask on Saturday.
She meets China's little-known Shunxin Zhao before coming up against four-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist Ryoko Tamura of Japan in the second round.
The three team sports also face tough uphill battles on Sunday.
The footballers, beaten by Japan in their opener on Thursday, meet Brazil, bronze medal winners in Atlanta, in Brisbane.
The baseballers will be praying for a miracle against defending champions Cuba and the women's hockey team will be hard-pressed to overcome the tough Germans.
Ryk Neethling is focusing on an Olympics he has lived for since finishing fifth in the men's 1500m freestyle final in Atlanta. That 30-lapper remains his prime mission here, but before he plots the downfall of Grant Hackett and Kieren Perkins in that race, he takes off in the 400m freestyle today.
Ian Thorpe is a prohibitive favourite to send the 17 000 capacity crowd at the Sydney Indoor Aquatic centre home delirious, while Hackett, the Aussies say, merely has to turn up to collect the silver medal.
Neethling's personal best over the distance is the 3min:46,31sec he achieved when third behind Thorpe and Hackett in the Pan Pacific championships here last year; Thorpe is in a different class over this distance, his 3:41,33 world record being a full five seconds quicker than Neethling.
It says much for the evolution of the South African swimming squad that there are a handful of realistic medal hopes at the Olympics, and the country does not have to be all-reliant on Heyns, whose 100m crown comes under threat from American Megan Quann (16).
Brett Petersen, the national 100m breaststroke champion, has spoken of his chances of sharing the glory, and he goes into the competition today as the eight-fastest entrant in the field. Terence Parkin, who is in for a busy week, is also in the event, but he will be a better proposition in the 200m breaststroke.
In the lane next to Petersen in this morning's heats is none other than the American champion Ed Moses (no relation to the hurdling legend of the same name), whose 1:00,44 is the second-fastest entry time of all and more than a second quicker than the big South African.
However, Petersen remains confident: "I have done all the hard work. I'm here for a medal, no jokes. I know I have to go under 1:01 (only Moses and world record holder Roman Sloudnov can brag about that) but I know I can."
The men's 4x100m freestyle relay team also launches into action - some have, perhaps ambitiously, put them in the medal frame - and Parkin will have the task of swimming a leg in the heats before Neethling joins Roland Schoeman, Nick Folker and Brendon Dedekind in the final.
Mandy Loots and Renate du Plessis are the remaining two swimmers taking the Olympic plunge on Saturday, where they contest the women's 100m butterfly. Neither are realistic finalists, but Loots will be eyeing the clock, where she attempts to dip under one minute for the first time, as much as the opposition.