SEOUL 1988 TALK about having the odds stacked against you. Queenslander Duncan Armstrong was ranked 25th in the world as a 200m freestyle swimmer entering his first Olympic Games in 1988. Before arriving in Seoul his best time over the distance would not have even earned him a spot in the final. Once he made it, past and present record- holders were there to meet him on both sides of the pool - Matt Biondi of the US, Poland's Artur Wojdat and West Germany's Michael Gross. 
But Armstrong's underdog status just added to the spirit-rousing story he wrote by surmounting the seemingly impossible to win gold in a then world-record time.
As Armstrong touched the wall in 1min 47.25sec, having expertly timed his run and surged on the final lap, the nation toasted a golden piece of Australian sporting history.
His madcap coach in the stands, Laurie Lawrence, held his Akubra tight and screamed his lungs out as Armstrong stormed home from "lucky lane six".
"Stuff the silver, we came for the gold," Lawrence said.The win was Australia's only swimming gold of the Games, and one of only three won by the Aussies in Seoul.