On a glorious day in Australian Olympic history, the Australian team bagged a record 10 medals in a single day thanks to two gold medals, won by 1500m freestyle swimmer Grant Hackett and the women’s water polo team, plus six silver and two bronze.
While Hackett’s gold medal continued Australia’s amazing record in the men’s 1500m freestyle, the women’s water polo team’s epic, last gasp 4-3 gold medal win over the USA completed an Olympic Games fairy tale.

The Australian women’s water polo team had long campaigned for equal rights and inclusion in the Sydney Olympics.
They even resorted to protesting at Sydney Airport, wearing only swimsuits, when FINA members arrived from overseas. Then in a blaze of publicity, team members were later evicted from an IOC media conference after gate crashing the event.
After finally winning Games inclusion in April 1997, the Australian team were focussed on success, and the gold medal was only secured with 1.3 seconds remaining when Yvette Higgins, the girl with the golden arm, slammed the ball into the net past the outstretched hands of two desperate American players.

Coach Istvan Gorgenyi praised the girls team-work when under the highest pressure.
“The girls have a lot more skills than you have seen. These skills came out when it was most important in the last two minutes of the Russia (semi-final) game and in the last seconds of the final,” he said.

Hackett’s 1500m freestyle victory signalled the official changing of the Olympic guard when he defeated team-mate, Kieren Perkins, who claimed the event gold medal at the 1992 and 1996 Games.

There were concerns about Hackett’s form earlier in the Games after his 200m and 400m freestyle performances, but he led from start to finish to clock 14min 48.33sec to be over five seconds clear of second placed Perkins.
“There were times during the week when I wondered, but the dream has come through with me winning gold and Kieran silver,” said Hackett.
There were further medals on the last night of swimming when the men’s and women’s medley relay teams both claimed silver medals. The men’s final team comprised Matt Welsh, Regan Harrison, Geoff Huegill and Michael Klim, while the women’s team was represented in the final by Dyana Calub, Leisel Jones, Petria Thomas and Susie O'Neill.

The first day of rowing finals saw an instant medal rush with a silver and two bronze medals.
Atlanta gold medallist Kate Slatter and her new women’s coxless pairs partner, Rachael Taylor, earned the silver medal after a sluggish start to finish 1.56sec behind the dominant Romanian pair. The medal was an upgrade on their bronze medal won at the 1999 World Championships.
Another Atlanta Games gold medallist, James Tomkins, and his men’s coxless pair partner, Matthew Long, had to settle for the bronze medal behind France and USA after giving rival boats too much start.

“We didn’t set it up too well, so we had a lot of work to do,” said Tomkins.
Australia’s other bronze medal was secured in the men’s coxless four which saw the team of James Stewart, Ben Dodwell, Geoff Stewart and Bo Hanson finish behind Great Britain and Italy.
Great Britain’s gold medal was a triumph for rower Steven Redgrave who joined a select group to have won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games.
On Sydney Harbour, John Forbes and Darren Bundock earned Australia’s first sailing medal when securing the tornado class silver medal behind the Austrian crew when placed third in the 10th and second last race.
And history was also made when Ji Wallace won Australia’s first ever gymnastics medal when second in the men’s trampoline behind Russia’s world champion, Alexandre Moskalenko.

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My Sydney 2000, presented by Swisse | Hosted by Tim Gilbert
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