OLYMPIC MONITOR

By BY SUSANNA SCHROBSDORFF/NEW YORK

THE SCIENCE OF WINNING ON SAND

Questions about why she wears a bikini really irritate U.S. beach-volleyball player Nancy Reno. "It's just logical," she says. "We play in 85 degrees-to-100 degrees temperatures. We wear them for performance." At first glance, logic does not seem to have had much to do with the rest of Reno's career. The Illinois native is master of a sport dominated by the Southern Californians, who invented it. And if you are expecting a beach-blanket bimbo, think again. On the way to becoming the world's best blocker and a favorite for the Olympic gold, this 30-year-old has picked up a master's degree in marine biology at Stanford University, has spent two summers in Alaska as a research diver and has begun a doctorate in animal behavior.

Reno balanced academia and athletics until 1992, when she found herself at the University of Colorado, carrying her volleyball to the biology classes she taught and training in the school's long- jump pit because it was the only local sand. "I knew something had to give," she says. Her studies have lost out for now, but as a reminder, she sports tattoos of a dolphin and a wolf, along with her trademark Grateful Dead tie-dyed headbands. And when beach life gets too hot, she goes camping on her 40-acre retreat in Colorado.

After 11 consecutive wins last season by Reno and partner Holly McPeak--beach volleyball features two-woman teams--the pair earned a trip to Atlanta for the sport's Olympic debut. But Reno nearly gave it all up when she split with McPeak in April. They have since reunited, but why even risk losing such an opportunity? Reno explains, "With all the sacrifices I've made, I'm not that tolerant of not being happy." Sounds perfectly logical. --By Susanna Schrobsdorff/New York

BIRTH OF A STADIUM

The brand-new Olympic track-and-field stadium got its first full-dress workout with the paying public last week, thanks to the Atlanta Grand Prix international meet. Carl Lewis, at 34, clocked under 10 sec. in the 100 m for the first time since 1991. Michael Johnson came from behind to win his 19th consecutive 200-m victory on what athletes deemed a fast track. The stadium has just one hurdle remaining before the Olympics: next month's U.S. trials.

TUMBLING NICE

Thanks to innovative choreography (including a tucked double-front somersault with a half twist), 17-year-old Ukrainian Lilia Podkopayeva tumbled her way to victory in the overall event at the European women's gymnastic championships in Birmingham, England. The next day she captured two more golds in the apparatus finals. Still, the current world champion feels her performance has room for improvement: "I'll try to avoid all my mistakes when I'm in Atlanta."

ADVANCING SWIMMINGLY

Ever since she watched Janet Evans swim to three golds in 1988, American Brooke Bennett has wanted to compete in the Olympics. Last year at the summer nationals, she broke Evans' eight-year winning streak in the 800-m freestyle. In March she beat Evans in the 800 at the Olympic trials, setting up a head-to-head contest in Atlanta. And last week in Phoenix, Arizona, Bennett bested Evans again in the 800. Not bad for a 16-year-old asthma and allergy sufferer.