The win that all Sydney was waiting for duly arrived as Australia's Cathy Freeman was crowned Olympic 400m champion - their 100th Olympic gold medal.
And there was joy too for Britain's Katharine Merry who grabbed the bronze medal and said: "I just wanted to get on the medal rostrum. It what I have worked for over three years and now I have it."
Freeman, watched by a partisan 110,000 crowd in the Olympic Stadium, triumphed in 49.11, while Merry and team-mate Donna Fraser, who was fourth, both broke 50 seconds for the first time in their careers - recording 49.72 and 49.79 respectively.
Colin Jackson's dream of finally being crowned 110 metres hurdles champion was left in tatters in Sydney today.
The 33-year-old world champion had to settle for fifth as Cuban Anier Garcia took the title.
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