BEFORE the Munich Games had even started, Shane Gould owned every single freestyle world record from the 100m to the 1500m. 
Such was her dominance, the otherwise shy Sydney teenager was mobbed by athletes at the Olympic village.
She didn't seem fazed when she discovered her American opponents wearing T-shirts that read: "All that glitters is not Gould".
"It actually gave me energy," Gould said. "I thought, 'Great, they are worried about me'." True to form, the swimming star won the 200m and 400m freestyle and the 200m individual medley. She took home a silver in the 800m freestyle, but later admitted she wasn't "tuned in" for the 100m freestyle event where she finished third. "When I got to the end and saw the result, I wanted to get up on the blocks and do it again," she said.
Forty-four years later Gould remains the only Australian to have won three individual gold medals at a single Olympics.
It would also be her first and last Games - she retired from the pool just a year later.She remains one of Australia's most celebrated swimmers. "I am blessed to have been born in Australia where water sports are loved and swimmers are revered," she said.