The United States of America were the favourites. They were supposed to win the 4×100 metre freestyle relay, but a young Australian team anchored by Ian Thorpe would take home the gold medal in world record time, surprising everyone on the global stage.
The USA were favourites with good reason as well. They had won every single 4×100 at the Olympics since 1984 – that meant 1984 in Los Angeles, 1988 in Seoul, 1992 in Barcelona and 1996 in Atlanta.
With Gary Hall Junior anchoring the US team after being involved in the success of 1996, the US team would confirm their favouritism position by qualifying fastest by nearly two seconds. Australia might have been second, but that time gap surely seemed like too much to be able to catch up.
Hall Junior famously announced that his team would smash Australia ‘like guitars’ before the Olympics, which no doubt provided extra motivation for the Aussies.
Michael Klim might not have swum in the heats, but he made all the difference come the final putting Australia on a world record pace from the outset, stopping the clock on his hundred metres at 48.18. Australia had .61 of a second advantage at the end although during the second and third legs they would lose most of that lead.
Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus were fast, but simply no match for the US duo of Neil Walker and Jason Lezak as Australia entered the final 100 metres with a lead that read just .25 of a second, with daylight between the leading pair and the rest of the field.
Enter Ian Thorpe.
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One of the greatest sporting successes Australia has ever seen would play out as the ‘Thorpedo’ went up against Hall who had already won two gold medals in Atlanta, along with a couple of silvers.
Thorpe, in front of his home crowd with the country watching on would lose just .06 of a second during the final 100 metres, meaning he still held the lead by .19 of a second and brought gold home for Australia in an incredible display.
Thorpe would go onto have an incredible career, but this was the springboard he, and Australia, needed in the pool.
Be sure to follow The Roar as we look back on some of the most memorable moments in Olympic history – be they weird and wacky or brilliant and significant – and count down the days until the Rio Olympics opening ceremony.