As a sports fanatic, for me the Olympics can best be summed up with two words – unscripted theatre.

And if their performances at Beijing are remotely as engrossing as the lead-up, then our Sunshine Coast Olympians are going to give us a ride that wouldn’t look out of place on stage.

It’s fair to say that Coast athletes have seen more drama than most over the past few months.

Court appearances (the Arbitration for Sport variety and the regular kind) have been commonplace.

There’s been last-minute despair, a burglary, even a coach who had his Olympic dream dashed thanks to a lotto draw. Let’s take it from the top, shall we?

Unless you’re Amish, we all know about the drama surrounding swimmer Nick D’Arcy.

The story had a happy beginning when he smashed the long-standing Australian 200-metre butterfly record at the Olympic trials.

Unfortunately as we all know, this tale has taken a sad twist that will continue to be played out all too publicly while D’Arcy defends charges of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on former Aussie swimmer Simon Cowley.

Then there was Greg Bennett, the Noosa triathlete who was nominated for the third male position on the men’s triathlon team behind Brad Kahlefeldt and Courtney Atkinson. But his Olympic bid was shattered when Australia failed to maintain its top eight world ranking, meaning we could only field two athletes.

Our greatest ever Olympian, Clint Robinson, has been in the wars as well.

The kayaker only had his ticket to a fifth Olympics rubber-stamped when rival Luke Michael’s 422nd appeal over his non-selection to the Court of Arbitration for Sport failed.

And just last week, the Barcelona gold medallist had the DVDs of his previous Olympic performances stolen when on a training camp in Rockhampton. In true Robinson style, he said it’s “just another challenge to be faced.”

And who can forget poor old Mike Foley?

Foley, boxing trainer at Maroochydore’s Shamrock Gym, was in the running to be an assistant coach at the Games after his protégé Paul Fleming was picked in the Olympic team.

Problem was, Boxing Queensland couldn’t choose between the two Micks – Foley and Gladstone trainer Mick Daly.

So they decided to let the first number of an Oz Lotto draw choose for them.

Foley chose even numbers. The number was 11.

It’s a story that’s as funny as it is ridiculous. But because Foley is such a good bloke, he just shrugged his shoulders and got on with life.

There have been plenty of negatives in this column so far, so let’s round it off with a feel-good story.

When pole vaulter Alana Boyd cleared the 4.45 metre A-qualifying mark at the Australian Championships, she wrote her name in history.

The 24-year-old became the first Australian to join both her parents as Olympians.

Our other Olympians – swimmers Samantha Hamill and Melanie Schlanger, rower Sonia Mills and boxer Todd Kidd – haven’t had any dramas (that I know of) as yet. But then there’s still nine days to go until the opening ceremony ...