COUNTDOWN TO OLYMPICS

* Days until opening ceremony: 3.

* Olympic update: An Uzbekistan track and field coach stopped at the airport last week with 15 vials of human growth hormone claims he was using the drug for a skin disorder. Customs officials are continuing their investigation.

* March to the medals: C.J. Hunter’s injured knee will keep the gold medal favorite from competing in the shot put at Sydney, giving John Godina--who won the silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics--another chance.

* Carrying the torch: Spent its first full day in Sydney, starting with a pre-dawn sendoff at Botany Bay National Park and ending the night at Parramatta.

* Olympic footnote: The manager of the U.S. marching band scheduled to take part in the opening ceremony was injured in a traffic accident. Bill Lutt was hospitalized after the two-car accident in Bathurst.