50 stunning Olympic moments: Cathy Freeman's gold – in pictures

When Cathy Freeman was chosen to light the Olympic cauldron at the start of the 2000 Games in her native Australia, it was intended as a symbolic gesture to unify the nation, acknowledging the traumas the Aboriginal population had suffered since the British settlement in the 18th century. A technical glitch stifled her big moment – the cauldron failed to rise into the air for four awkward minutes after Freeman had lit it Photograph: Jamie Squire/Allsport

Her performance on the track was smoother thanks, of course, to her unforgettable choice of clothing – an all-in-one body suit replete with hood which was intended to make her more aerodynamic. Freeman, the reigning Olympic silver medallist, began the final as the favourite – the anticipated showdown with her French adversary Marie-José Pérec scuppered by Pérec's withdrawal after alleged harassment by the press Photograph: Billy Stickland/Getty Images

Freeman ghosted past her rivals on the bend Photograph: Stu, Forster/Allsport

And crossed the finish line in 49.13 seconds ... Photograph: Billy Stickland/Getty Images

Yards ahead of the field, as this slit-scan image shows Photograph: AP

The victory made her the darling of the nation but she was not the first Aboriginal athlete to win an Olympic gold medal – Nova Peris-Kneebone claimed that honour as part of the victorious Australian hockey team at Atlanta in 1996
Photograph: Getty Images

Freeman poignantly draped herself in both the Aboriginal and Australian flags for her victory lap, breaking the IOC edict on the display of unofficial flags in the process Photograph: Nick Wilson/Getty Images

Australia finished fourth in the medals table with 16 golds, but the Games will forever be remembered for Freeman's heart-warming triumph Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images