SYDNEY 2000 IF there was a pressure index for athletes competing at the Olympics, then Cathy Freeman's build-up to her famous victory at the Sydney Games was in the extreme zone. 
And if the anticipation surrounding her tilt at gold in the 400m wasn't already enough, her star turn in the opening ceremony ensured it reached a crescendo by the time she took to the track at Olympic Park.
In what had been a well-kept secret, Freeman was given the huge honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron in a spectacular fire and water opening ceremony.
In the same stadium 10 days later, Freeman had to withstand immeasurable public pressure to win gold in the 400m in what remains one of Australia's greatest Olympic performances.
The spotlight on her to deliver was ramped up even more after her great rival for gold, Frenchwoman Marie-Jose Perec, fled Sydney after complaining about being hounded by the media.
In her hooded bodysuit, Freeman ran the most brilliant 49.11sec of her life, amid a deafening roar at the Olympic Stadium.
After the race, she collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by what she had just achieved.
"I was completely taken up in this huge wave of emotion. I didn't know exactly what had just happened," Freeman later said of her victory.
"I just knew that I had achieved something I had waited for so long for." Freeman's victory fittingly delivered Australia's 100th Olympic gold medal at the Games.She was, and will always remain, the face of the Sydney Olympic Games.