The Sydney Olympiad is the 10th Olympics Nepal is taking part in. Success has so far been elusive, and no one expects anything different of the five who will be representing Nepal at the Games beginning 15 September, But for the athletes, to be included in the country\'s Olympic squad is in itself a lifetime\'s ambition. "It\'s the greatest thing that can happen, "says young swimmer Runa Pradhan.

Given below are short profiles of our five Olympians, all of whom are participating in the Olympics for the first time.

Gyan Bahadur Bohara
Age - 27
Event - 5000m
Best timing - 14:50.10
National record - 14:34.43
Olympic record - 13:05.60
World record- 12:39.40.

Undoubtedly the best Nepali middle-distance runner of this decade, Gyan Bahadur missed the gold by just one second at the last South Asian Federation (SAF) Games. The SAF silver, however, helped him clock his best timing of 14:50.10. A versatile runner, Gyan Bahadur used to run thel0,000m, 5000m and the marathon, but he has now begun concentrating on 5000m. At the moment, the Royal Nepal Army serviceman is running under 14:50. Says the chief athletics coach, Bishwa Thapa, Gyan Bahadur is capable of setting a new national record in Sydney.

Devi Maya Paneru
Age - 22
Event- 100m
Best timing - 12.17 (national record)
Olympic record - 10.62
World record - 10.49

Now in the prime of her career, Devi Maya Paneru hopes to become the first Nepali woman to run 100m under 12 seconds. Her best so far is 12.17 sec, set at the last SAF Games. The sprinter from Nepal Police idolises Marion Jones and hopes to gather invaluable experience competing against world-class runners at the Olympic. Devi arrived in the national scene five years ago at the National Athletics Championship and has since established an enviable record in the domestic circuit. Winner of four gold medals at the 4th National Games held in Nepalgunj in 1999, Devi has participated in the 7th SAF Games and the 199"" World Athletics Championship in Athens.

Bhagwati K.C.
Age- 27
Event- 10m Air Rifle
Best result - 388 (national record)
Olympic record - 397
World record - 399

A teacher of disabled children, Bhagwati K.C. got a wild card entry to Sydney. Though she didn\'t perform well in the 8th SAF Games, her performance at the 1998 Bangkok Asiad. where she scored 377, was good enough for her to find a place in the Olympic team. Bhagwati has been competing at the national level for the last 11 years. This shooter from Baglung has been notching 390 during practice sessions and is confident of doing well at Cecil Park (the shooting venue).

Runa Pradhan
Age- 16
Event - 50m freestyle
Best Timing - 31.70 (national record)
Olympic record - 24.79
World record - 24.39

Sixteen is a pretty young age to compete at world sports meets, but not for swimmers and gymnasts. And teenager Runa Pradhan, who comes from a family of swimmers in Kathmandu, is ready for the challenge. Runa is delighted to be going to Sydney, where she hopes to meet world-class swimmers like Alexander Popov and Ian Thorpe, of whom she is a great fan.

Chitra Bahadur Gurung
Age - 30
Event - 50m freestyle
Best timing - 27.28
National record - 26.58
Olympic record - 21.91
World record-21.39

The oldest among the five, army man Chitra Bahadur Gurung will have the honour of earning the country\'s flag at the opening ceremony. Chitra made his debut at the national swimming championship in 1992, winning gold in the 50m freestyle. Since then, he has been representing Nepal at various international swimming meets, notably the 5th FINA World Championship, the 8th SAF games and 13th Asia-Pacific Age Group Swimming Meet. His best timing in the pre-Olympic practice sessions is 27.64.