Great Performances

The best television of the season. Perfect casting, bone-chilling performances, tense cliff-hangers — and prices far below the Triplecast. That's the skinny on the XXV Olympic Summer Games. Starting July 25, NBC will air 161 hours from Barcelona — with a constellation of the brightest on the track (Jackie Joyner-Kersee), in the pool (Summer Sanders), down the court (Teresa Edwards, Michael Jordan), through the air (Mike Powell, Carl Lewis), and between the bars (Kim Zmeskal, Shannon Miller). Here, Entertainment Weekly's picks for the most telegenic matchups (Dan and Dave, we already miss you), the most incredible comeback, the most golden romances (two American couples are competing), some superlative Dream Team stats, and a glimpse at how you'd fare against the best athletes. So you always thought you weren't a heavy-medal fan? Think again.

Long Jump
Carl Lewis, U.S., vs. Mike Powell, U.S.
Finals: Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m.- midnight
History: In an astonishing 65 competitions in 10 years, Lewis was undefeated, but at last summer's world championships in Tokyo, Powell took the gold, breaking Bob Beamon's 23-year-old world record — with a jump of 29 feet 4 1/2 inches.
Marquee value: It will all come down to hang time. Ace sprinter Lewis has sacrificed his other events to stay competitive in the long jump, and he wants the record. Powell has spent four years focused on winning this one event. Can Carl's overall talent overcome Mike's single-minded desire?

Lewis personals
Age: 31
Residence: Houston
Number of oympics: Three
Number of medals: Seven (six golds and one silver-in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, 4 x 100 relay, and long jump)
Motivation: Lewis would have retired from this event had he broken Beamon's record at the '91 world championships. Of his failure to do so, he says, ''The Lord gave me a little 'knock, knock, knock — it's not time to stop.''' If he wins the long jump, Lewis will be the first man ever to win golds in the same track event in three consecutive Olympics.
Training: Does sprint work two hours a day, five days a week (surprisingly, no weight lifting, no sit-ups, no pull-ups), and works on the long jump (jumping, approach, and takeoff technique) two days a week.
Special pleasures: Potato chips, Unsolved Mysteries
Psycho stat: In '91, though he had competed only twice in the long jump, Lewis was second at the world championships. He may be nursing a bruised ego after disappointing showings at the U.S. trials — he didn't qualify in either the 100- or 200-meter events — but the defeats could stoke his competitive fire.
Style: Lewis, who has a Houston-based sports apparel company, says he'll probably sport a ''no-hair'' 'do for the Olympics and says his biggest beef is the ''absolutely hideous'' patriotic unitard of the U.S. track team.
Attitude: ''I'll have to jump perfect to win.''

Powell personals
Age: 28
Residence: Alta Loma, Calif.
Number of olympics: Two
Number of medals: One (a silver in the long jump in '88)
Motivation: Though Powell has officially jumped more than 29 feet only twice, he talks with assurance about 30 feet. ''I get excited weeks ahead when I know I'm jumping against Carl. I know it will bring out the best in me. He's been a winner for so long, he's used to it. He believes he'll win. It's something that I've picked up from him.''
Training: Practices every other day for four hours, including a warm-up in the pool, physical therapy, two hours at the track, and weight work.
Special pleasures: Dance music (recently a lot of Heavy D.) chess, Scrabble, bowling.
Nickname: Troubled takeoffs gave him the name Mike Foul (''I used to try and get every little bit of the board before takeoff; now I'm more relaxed''), but he prefers his musical moniker, DJ P Mikey Mike.
Attitude: ''(Winning would be) the exclamation point of my career. The big goal has always been Olympic gold in '92.''