Months ago, when we realized we couldn't compete with NBC in Olympics coverage, we came up with a better idea: to support the Malaysian Olympic Team. Malaysia trails only North America and the United Kingdom in number of Tripod members. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Malaysian participation in the Olympic Games. So we approached Sieh Kok Chi, the Secretary General of the Malaysian National Olympic Committee, and he agreed to let Tripod become an official supporter of the 1996 Malaysian Olympic Team. We can't cover it all, but here we present a few of the Malaysian athletes, and we'll do our best to find out how they're doing. As Sieh Kok Chi told us, "The US will win many medals, especially gold medals. The Malaysian contingent will be more than satisfied if we could win any medal." August 2, 1996: Malaysia's Olympic Secretary General The Secretary General of Malaysia's National Olympic Council talks to Tripod about training, sponsorship, what it means to compete for Malaysia, and why he's pleased with just one medal. July 31, 1996: Malaysia Wins Two Medals On July 31, Malaysia won its first medal! The Malaysian Men's Doubles Badminton team won a silver medal in the final against the number one ranked Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky from Indonesia. The Malaysians won the first game, 5-15, but lost the next two 15-13, 15-12. On August 1, Rashid Sidak of Malysia won a bronze for Men's Singles Badminton. July 31, 1996: Going Bananas for a Gold The Malaysian Men's Doubles Badminton team has been advised by fans back home to take a bunch of green bananas onto the court to secure the gold on Wednesday night. July 29, 1996: In the Swim of Things Conversations with the Malaysian Olympic Swim Team. Meet full-time students and Olympic athletes Antony Ang, 17, Jim Keng Liat, 15, and Elvin Chia, 19. They don't expect to win, but they do hope the world will notice that Malaysians can swim. And Elvin would like to say hi to his mom. July 25, 1996: An American-Malaysian Connection Tripod interviews two former classmates (and now Olympic swimmers) from the University of Georgia, Wan Azlan Abdullah of Malaysia and Sheila Taormina, 1996 Gold Medal Winner for the United States. They talk here about training, sleeping, the South, and what it means to compete for their countries. Illustration by Federico Jordan, a freelance illustrator based in Mexico.