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Track and field gets underway at the Olympics Friday, with American sprinters Marion Jones and Maurice Greene competing in qualifying rounds. But the big track news was made OFF the track. As NPR's Howard Berkes reports, the mysterious French runner Marie-Jose Perec left Sydney a day before her first heat, claiming an intruder forced his way into her hotel room and threatened her. Perec, the defending Olympic champion in the 200 and 400 meters, avoided all public appearances in the weeks before the Games, communicating only through her Website.

Robert Siegel speaks with Dr. Darrell Burnett, a sports psychologist who specializes in counseling young athletes. He believes involvement in sports for young people is good for them, though intense specialty at an early age may not be the best thing for a youngster below the age of 13 or 14. Kids that young may burn out and lose interest. Dr. Burnett also says kids must pursue their sport based on their own interest, not that of their parents. Dr. Burnett is author of Youth, Sports, & Self Esteem: A Guide for Parents. (9:00) Burnett's WebPage is: http://www.djburnett.com

At each Olympics, the winner of the 100 meters becomes known as the fastest man in the world. The race lasts a tad over 9 seconds, but it requires tremendous physical and mental preparation. It's not unusual for an elite sprinter to engage a scientist to analyze the biomechanics of his gait. But as NPR's Tom Goldman reports, at race time simplicity is best. Top runners say they are able to clear their minds of extraneous thoughts during their races.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports that with just two days before Yugoslavia's presidential election, there's growing anxiety in Belgrade and abroad about the possible aftermath of the vote. Polls show opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica leading Slobodan Milosevic. But many opposition leaders and analysts believe that Milosevic, an indicted war criminal, will resort to anything to stay in power.

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been blamed for much of the bloodshed in the Balkans. Yet Commentator Iain Guest, a visiting fellow at the Overseas Development Council in Washington, D.C., says the elections this weekend are more about principle than personality. Demonizing Milosevic, Guest says, just strengthens his position.

French President Jaques Chirac is angrily denying charges that he was involved in unscrupulous fundraising for his party, and kickbacks to construction companies, while he was Mayor of Paris in the 1980's. The allegations come from a videotaped interview with a man who was an aide to Chirac during those years -- but has since died. Robert talks to John Henley, Correspondent for the Guardian newspaper in Paris about the story.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports on another rough day for U.S. stocks. The NASDAQ composite plunged more than five-percent this morning on news that Intel will fall short of revenue targets for the third-quarter. The bad news on Intel's earnings managed to drag down all three major indexes, even though the NASDAQ did recover about half its initial loss by mid-day. Market watchers say investors are also concerned about the sliding Euro.

Critic Ken Tucker offers Linda a sneak preview of the fall television season. They'll discuss a new show starring Bette Midler; also, Ed, a program about a lawyer who opens a bowling alley, and a show featuring a genetically engineered supergirl called Dark Angel, from filmmaker James Cameron.

NPR's John Ydstie reports the U.S. joined the central banks of Europe, Japan, England and Canada in a coordinated effort to stop the slide of the Euro. The intervention in the foreign exchange markets seemed to work, at least for now. The Euro climbed as high as 90 cents, but then fell back a bit later in the day.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports that yesterday India announced that it would pull its contingent out of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone. India, with the second-largest contingent of troops is pulling out at a time when the United Nations is attempting to increase the number of peacekeepers in the embattled West African nation.