Athletics big guns, USA’s peerless middle distance runner Michael Johnson, Ethiopia’s champion long distance athlete Haile Gebrselassie and Great Britain’s brilliant triple jumper Jonathan Edwards were all on the gold medal centre stage before 112,524 spectators – the biggest attendance for any sport in Olympic history.

And also sharing this spotlight was Cathy Freeman.

Ten days earlier she carried the Olympic torch to light the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, and on this night, she carried the hopes of a nation in the women’s 400m final.

In a Games which celebrated 100 years of Olympic competition for women, Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst earlier in the day took Australia’s all-time Olympic Games gold medal count to 99 when victorious in the women’s beach volleyball final on the golden sands of Bondi Beach.

Running the perfect race at the perfect time, it was fitting that Freeman, seemingly carried by the roar of the crowd and the will of the nation, crossed the finish line first to record Australia’s 100th Olympic gold medal.

Her race time was officially 49.11sec, but it seemed an eternity given the long pre-Games build-up, the controversy over French runner Marie-Jose Perec’s mysterious departure from Sydney, and the high level of global expectation.

The hooded Freeman delivered in spades and then collapsed on the track in a mixture of exhaustion and relief as Australians from coast to coast celebrated deliriously.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little girl and that’s why I got really emotional…something like this happening to a little girl like me,” she said.

“I think I felt everyone’s emotions inside of me all of a sudden. It blew me away.”

The stadium crowd was still buzzing 30 minutes later when Tatiana Grigorieva was locked in a gripping battle for the first ever women’s pole vault final with USA’s world record holder, Stacy Dragila.

Energised by a pulsating crowd and needing to beat Dragila’s world record to capture the gold medal, Grigorieva charged at the final jump hoping to soar to a height seemingly higher than Nicky Webster at the Opening Ceremony but came up fractionally short and settled for the silver medal.

While Australia’s dream unfolded at the Olympic Stadium, the Dream Machine of Cook and Pottharst purred with perfection when delivering a 2-0 sets victory over Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar from Brazil.

The Australia duo were the top seeds but had only twice beaten the Brazilians in their 17 previous international matches. The Australians trailed 11-8 in the first set and 10-8 in the second before storming to take all remaining match points in each set to record a gutsy 12-11 and 12-10 win.

The day also saw the women’s softball team collect the bronze medal.

Australia’s path to the semi-finals was paved by powerhouse batter Peta Edebone who smashed decisive home runs in preliminary matches against New Zealand, USA and China.

But in a tight finals series, Australia fell 1-0 to Japan before again being held scoreless when defeated 1-0 by the USA.

#MySydney2000