Basketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball contests at the 2000 Summer Olympics were held from 16 September 2000 to 1 October 2000. Games took place at the Sydney SuperDome and the Dome in Sydney, Australia. The United States claimed the gold medals in both the men's and women's competitions. A National Olympic Committee (NOC) may enter up to one men's team with 12 players and up to one women's team with 12 players. The reigning world champions and the host country qualify automatically, as do the winners of the five continental championships, plus the Americas runner-up and four additional
Summer Olympic coins Summer Olympic coins Although the first Olympic coin can be traced back to 480 BC, the modern Olympics did not see its first commemoratives until 1951. The original concept of Olympic coins was that the Greeks believed that coins brought the general public closer to the Olympic games. The premise was that those who could not attend the games could at least have a tangible souvenir of the event. In 1951, the government of Finland authorized the striking of the first modern Olympic coin, a 500 Markkaa. At first, the coins circulated as currency in the issuing country and the