Perhaps it was the childlike bite of the lip as the weight of the achievement bore down on her. Or the green-and-gold space-age bodysuit that looked as if it had been ripped from the pages of a Captain America comic. Or the Australian Aboriginal flag that she unfurled on her lap of honour, reinforced what she called "the connection of Indigenous peoples, in theory and in essence, to the land".

All these memories and more combine to make Cathy Freeman's 400 metres victory at the Sydney Olympics, 20 years ago on Friday, one of enduring resonance.

The Telegraph London