More than 200 athletes from more than a dozen different teams will train in the Augusta area in June and July before the Olympics, making it the largest pre-Olympic training center outside Atlanta.

``We can say hundreds, we've passed the 200 mark,'' said Tammy Stout, executive director of the Greater Augusta Sports Council.

Augusta has received so many requests from teams to train at local rowing venues that some countries - Russia, for example - have been turned away.

``We had 11 other countries that wanted to train here, but we had to turn them away. We just don't have the facilities to support our team and more than just a few foreign teams,'' said George Fry Jr., national team liaison to the Augusta Rowing Club.

The prospect of pre-Olympic training has softened the blow of Augusta being passed over as an Olympic venue for golf, table tennis, softball, cycling and volleyball. It's also helping revive the sporting venues, which will receive thousands in state and local tax dollars to prepare for the Olympic trainees.

Although all guidelines aren't finalized, most sports venue managers say they'll allow fans to watch the pre-Olympic action for free.

`This is the biggest thing for Augusta (and) I want to open it up the public,'' said Tom Moraetes, director of the Augusta Boxing Club, where U.S. Olympic boxers will train.

"It's going to be a huge party,'' said Rich Sherman, owner of the South Carolina Outdoor Shooting Center in Windsor, S.C., where shooters from more than a half dozen countries are expected to train.

"This is our time, '' said Mr. Sherman. "You and I will be long buried before the Olympics come this close to us again. We just want to make it a large fest for the C.S.R.A."

``That's what the Olympics are all about, learning about other cultures,'' he said.