SN 140 Moments: No. 131 - Australia's Cathy Freeman wins 400 meter gold before frenzied crowd in Sydney

Time and place always matters when forming indelible Olympic moments. Cathy Freeman – an Aboriginal Australian sprinter who won the silver medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta – took advantage of the home stage in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney for one of those moments. 

Freeman lit the torch for the games. She made the 400-meter final in front of a frenzied crowd of more than 112,000 fans at Sydney's Olympic Stadium. French sprinter and rival Marie-Jose Perec had mysteriously pulled out of the Olympics after allegedly being threatened at her hotel, which only increased the pressure on Freeman to win a gold medal. 

Freeman delivered. Freeman became the second Aboriginal Australian to win a gold medal with a dazzling display in the home-stretch from lane 6. She finished with a time of 49.11 seconds. Freeman carried an Aboriginal flag and Australian flag afterward – an intense moment of triumph and harmony that embodied the Olympic spirit.

MORE: Back to The Sporting News' 140 Greatest Sports Moments of All Time