‘Picking a needle out of a haystack’: The untold story of Grant Hackett’s golden moment

“Before the race, I always used to look up at my mum and dad, and give a bit of nod or a wave to them.

“I couldn’t find them before that race – it was just so jam-packed. There was 17 or 18,000 people around this small 50 metre pool.

“As soon as I won, I turned around – you kind of go crazy, all the emotions come out, a dream come true – but then I looked straight at them!

“It was like picking a needle out of a haystack, and I got to see them and celebrate that with them.”

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