A SHOT IN THE ARM FOR ALL.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

OLYMPIA, Greece - A brilliant idea, taking the shot put back to the birthplace of the Olympic Games, proving, if nothing else, that everything old really can become new again.

Even if it was 1,611 years in the making.

Zeus, old buddy, be proud. They did you right, if you overlook everyone actually wearing clothes and all.

That was some show they put on Wednesday, just down a stone tunnel from Zeus' old temple. Nothing fancy. Very respectful. Authentic as they could be and still pull it off.

Olympia became the site of the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. and lasted until 393 A.D., when Greek emperor Theodosius somehow got this idea that all these guys running around naked, playing and partying, were pagans and not quite in step with modern times.

Still, that was some run, and it was easy to see Wednesday what captivated the Greeks about the site.

Olympia Stadium is a sun-drenched bowl carved out beneath a hill filled with pines. The track is a dirt field some 200 yards long and about 25 yards wide. There are no seats, just grass embankments.

It probably looks much the same today as it did almost 2,800 years ago. It was treated with great respect for the shot put, an event the ancient Greeks never held.

There were no jumbotrons. No lights. Only soft Greek music played. Just a few Olympic flags hung as decoration. Not a pinch of commercialism. Atlanta would have turned it into the ``shot put brought to you by Coca- Cola.''

Instead, it was all very clean, very right.

``Shot put nirvana,'' U.S. putter Adam Nelson said.

The shot putters entered the stadium from the former underground stone tunnel that led from the old city, now an archaeological site.

``I was walking through the tunnel into the stadium and felt like a gladiator,'' Croatia's Edis Elkasevic said.

Canada's Bradley Snyder said he had the chance to be the first to practice with the new shot put rings after they were placed in the stadium this week.

``I was the first (athlete) to come out of that tunnel in 1,000 years,'' Snyder said. ``I have that going for me. I've got witnesses, too.''

The first athlete to actually compete at Olympia in 1,611 years was - actually, Zeus, maybe you should cover your eyes on this one - Kristin Heaston of the U.S.

Yep, a woman.

Heaston stepped into the ring and let loose the first competitive effort in the early morning, and the crowd erupted.

``It's shot put paradise,'' Heaston said.

Of course, back in ancient times, women were not welcome. Any woman getting brave enough to sneak in might be introduced to the nearest cliff.

``Nobody's throwing my big booty off a cliff,'' Heaston said. ``I might have something to say about that.''

The Greeks gave away 15,000 free tickets to the one-day event, and perhaps proving if it's free they will come, the stadium seemed to hold all 15,000 by the late afternoon final.

Shot putters aren't used to being a solo act, getting all of a crowd's attention at a meet, and they soaked up the historic atmosphere and the spotlight.

You could call it the greatest shot-put contest in history. In one of the most historical sites in Greece, they were still making a little more history.

``It's amazing just walking through the tunnel and seeing all the people,'' American John Godina said. ``I can't imagine what it would have been like here in the old days.

``We know we're very lucky.''

Yuri Bilonog of the Ukraine won the men's competition and Irina Korzhanenko of Russia the women's, but Olympia won, too.

The Greeks, as you might imagine, take all this quite seriously. There were constant comments of hallowed ground and ghost of ancient times. Like it was Wrigley Field or something.

One Greek stood in the crowd, soaked it all in and tried to explain the importance of the site to his country.

``This is life,'' Ianniaas Michalopoulos said. ``This is death. This is history. This is Greece. This is who we are.''

The sun grew blazing hot as the day wore on, but no one seemed to mind much. A wind kicked up and would send swirling dust around the field. They never had to work out that grounds crew thing back in Zeus' day.

Some of the shot putters seemed slightly taken aback by it all. Heaston couldn't make the final eight.

``I should have thought more about what I was doing today instead of what I was doing it in,'' she said.

Snyder said he looked around and realized exactly where he was.

``It leaves you numb,'' he said.

It left a good feeling. If not exactly like in ancient times, close enough for all involved. Maybe they can try it again in another 1,600 years.

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Photo:

(color) Olympic shot put judges walk past the ruins of the ancient Olympiad in Ancient Olympia, Greece, before Wednesday's competition.

Ed Wray/Associated Press