Remember when: GC star Grant Hackett led the gold rush at the World Aquatic Championships

IT was the gold rush every Australian hoped for when Gold Coaster Grant Hackett made a splash at the 1998 World Aquatic Championships in Perth

Gold Coast History: Gold Coast Bulletin 1998, January 19. Front page.

IT was the gold rush that every Australian had been hoping for at the 1998 World Aquatic Championships in Perth.

The gold medals rained down on Perth’s Challenge Stadium as Australia celebrated its greatest ever world swimming championship on the back of a strong performance from homegrown talent.

Melbourne’s Michael Klim stamped himself as the greatest male swimmer in world championship history after winning his fourth gold and seventh medal of the championships.

Klim was at the time the individual gold medallist and world record-holder and produced what was described as an “astonishing” butterfly leg in Australia’s victory in the men’s 4x100m medley relay.

It capped a night of three golds for Australia, giving them seven overall for the championships.

Queenslanders Susie O’Neill and Grant Hackett picked up gold in the women’s 200m butterfly and men’s 1500 freestyle, with fellow Australians Petria Thomas and Daniel Kowalski coming second and third respectively.

Gold Coast Bulletin front page from January 19, 1998.

Hackett faced European rival, former world Number one Emiliano Brembilla of Italy but the then-17-year-old clocked up the third fastest time in history, of 14 minutes, 51.70 seconds to defeat Brembilla by nearly nine seconds.

Just moments after his win, Hackett led the cheers as Kowalski staged what was called “one of his epic come-from-behind charges” to snatch the bronze medal from Ukranian Igor Snitko.

Hackett, then put Perkins, the then-reigning Olympic champion, on notice.

“I know Kieren is out there watching but tonight I believe I took a rather large step out of his shadow,” the schoolboy said.

Now, 18 years later, Hackett is hoping to make another Olympics appearance.