Sydney Olympic Games: 15 top moments from the ‘best Games ever’
AT THE end of the Sydney Olympic Games, Juan Antonio Samaranch proclaimed that Sydney had “presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever.’’ Here are 15 reasons why they were so good.
FIFTEEN years ago today billions of eyes were trained on Sydney as the 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony got underway in Harbour City.
An estimated 3.6 billion viewed the spectacle that kickstarted two weeks of sporting brilliance that would see dozens of records smashed and our country put up on a pedestal.
From Cathy Freeman’s incredible 400m victory to Eric the Eel’s heartwarming 100m heat, the Sydney Games had something for everyone.
When the Games were over Australians held their breath to find out what the verdict was. We desperately wanted then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch to label them the best ever...and he didn’t disappoint.
‘’I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever.’’
Here are 15 moments that made the Sydney 2000 Games so good:
CATHY FREEMAN’S 400M FINAL VICTORY
With more than 100,000 people packed into the Olympic Stadium on September 25 2000, there was one race on everyone’s mind: Cathy Freeman’s 400m final. The face of the Olympics, Freeman was yet to win Olympic gold but was the hometown favourite, especially after rival Marie-Jose Perec mysteriously pulled out earlier. With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Freeman - decked out in the now-famous full body suit, started well but as she hit the final turn she suddenly found herself in third. Not one to give up without a fight, Freeman found another gear and raced past the other two women to storm home in 49:11 and take gold. The crowd was so loud, their cheers could be heard kilometres away from the stadium.
JANE SAVILLE’S HEARTBREAKING DISQUALIFICATION
With the finish line almost in sight and more than 80,000 screaming fans ready to carry her to victory, disaster struck for Aussie Jane Saville when she was sensationally disqualified from the race. The crowd inside Olympic Stadium fell silent as the race official held up Saville’s third and final red disc and the Sydney walker collapsed to the ground in tears. When reporters asked her later what she needed, she answered: “A gun to shoot myself.”
SENSATIONAL OPENING CEREMONY
Australia entered the spotlight as the 2000 Olympics kicked off with a smashing Opening Ceremony. More than 3.6 billion tuned in across the globe to witness what then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch described as the most beautiful the world had ever seen. A cast of 12,687 told the story of the Land Down Under without a hitch...almost. The stunning Olympic flame lighting was delayed by a technical glitch, leaving Cathy Freeman standing in a pool of water for more than four minutes as the Olympic flame got stuck on its way to the cauldron.
4 X 100M MEN’S FREESTYLE FINAL
The US team lost this race before the Olympics had even begun. Gary Hall jnr made the mistake of proclaiming his unbeaten team would ‘smash (the Aussies) like guitars.’ At the last change in the final, Hall looked to have the upper hand but Ian Thorpe had other plans and slowly hunted down the American and touched the wall for the gold medal. As he jumped out of the pool to celebrate the historic gold, it was the Aussies who were playing the air guitars to the tune of victory.
THORPIE V VAN DEN HOOGENBAND
This showdown was one of the most spectacular of the Games and saw numerous records broken on the way to the heart-stopping final. Thorpe held the world-record heading into the Olympics and set a new Games record in one of his heats. But van den Hoogenband made his intentions clear in the semi-finals when he set a new world record and matched it in the final to take home the gold.
THE VOLUNTEER ARMY
Volunteers were the backbone of the Olympic Games. Almost 50,000 of them, dressed in their distinctive uniforms, helped keep things in order across all of the venues and throughout the city. The fact that many could still be seen wearing their uniforms years after the Games were over is testament to what the experience meant to them. The city put on a special parade just for volunteers to show their appreciation for their spectacular job.
ERIC THE EEL PERSONIFIES OLYMPIC SPIRIT
The Olympic Games are as much about participation as it is about winning. And nothing demonstrated that more than Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea. As others around him prepared on the blocks of the Sydney Aquatic Centre in specially designed aerodynamic swimsuits, ‘Eric the Eel’ stood simply with a pair of blue Speedos and goggles ready for the 100m heat. Just 12 months earlier he had never set foot in a pool nor left his country. And uit didn’t matter that he posted the slowest Olympic 100m swim time, the 17,000-strong crowd had a new hero.
JUMPING JAI TAURIMA
Jai Taurima smoked a packet of cigarettes a day and ate pizzas, drank coke and struggled to include a vegetable in his diet. But none of that stopped him from pulling off one of the surprises of the Games with a silver medal in the long jump. He recorded an Oceanic record with his 8.49m leap.
NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA MARCH AS ONE
One of the most surprising aspects of the 2000 Olympic Games was when a unified North and South Korea marched in the Opening Ceremony under the same flag and wearing the same uniform. It wasn’t the first time the two countries’ sporting teams had done it, but it was the first time at an Olympic Games. They would compete separately but marched as one.
UNDEFEATED HOCKEY RUN
The Aussie women’s hockey team went through the entire tournament undefeated, winning their pool games easily before continuing their charge into a final showdown with Argentina. That run included a 5-0 drubbing of the Netherlands and a 5-1 thrashing of China. They went on to take the gold medal with a 3-1 win.
NAILBITING WATERPOLO VICTORY
It was one of the most nailbiting finishes of the Games. The Aussies were up against water polo powerhouse USA in the final and the scores were tied at 3-3. With just 1.2 seconds left on the clock, Yvette Higgins powered through the winning goal to send the crowd at the Ryde Aquatic Centre crazy and hand Australia the gold medal.
FAIRWEATHER WINS FIRST ARCHERY GOLD FOR AUSTRALIA
Not many people knew the name Simon Fairweather before September 2000. But the Aussie fired his way into the record books and became the first - and only - Australian archery gold medallist.
LAUREN BURNS MAKES HISTORY
Taekwondo was new to the Olympics in Sydney and Lauren Burns was pretty keen on entering the history books with a medal. But with two dodgy knees and a pin holding together a smashed finger, it was going to be a tough ask. But the student pulled off the almost impossible and became the first taekwondo Olympic gold medallist.
OPALS FALL AT THE FINAL HURDLE
Australia isn’t known as a world basketball powerhouse, but the Aussie women cruised to victory in their pool, undefeated against the likes of Brazil, Canada and France. They smashed Poland in the quarterfinal and then Brazil in the semis, but fell just short of a historic gold medal when they were beaten by the US in a thrilling final.
A PROUD MEDAL TALLY
With 16 gold, 25 silver and 17 bronze, Australia finished fourth on the medal tally after the 2000 Olympic Games.
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