MURRAY Rose was a rebel with a cause, one that drove the 17-year-old to adopt a radical diet that proved beyond the means of chefs in the Olympic Village. 
So Rose moved out to live with his mother, who could provide a diet that included sunflower seeds, sesame, unpolished rice, dates, cashew nuts and carrot juice.
The English-born Rose, who arrived in Australia aged one in 1940, knew exactly what he was doing, even if his diet earned him the nickname of "Seaweed Streak".
The streak part proved prophetic when he became the youngest Olympian to win three gold medals - claiming the 400m and 1500m individual freestyle titles, as well as playing a key role in the Australian 4x200m freestyle relay team that broke the world record.
Rose's dramatic win in the 1500m centred on his main rival, Japan's Tsuyoshi Yamanaka. It was only 11 years since Australian and Japanese forces had been locked in combat during World War II. Many Australians still felt bitter and hostile towards the Japanese.
With 100m to go, Rose drew two body lengths clear of Yamanaka and looked poised for victory, but Yamanaka began a brave sprint, drawing to within a metre. The Australian responded to the challenge and managed to win by just a second in a world-record time. Before his death from cancer in 2012 at 73, Rose recalled the moments after that race. "There was still a lot of ill-feeling towards the Japanese and I knew the crowd was watching us closely after the race," he said.
"We both smiled, fell over the lane lines and warmly embraced. We could hear the crowd cheering."But the true significance of our race and what happened was the front page of the newspaper the next day. It read 'The War Is Over'."