The pictures: Personal Best (2)

Herald photographer Paul Estcourt's picture of Cathy Freeman after winning the 400m gold medal was loaded with political symbolism. The hand coming down in congratulation reflected the fact that Freeman was carrying the expectations of a nation, and the hopes of the Aboriginal people, into the final. And she delivered. The picture was shot with a 600m lens on a digital camera. The exposure was 1/500th of a second at F2.8: this is a low-resolution web version. Estcourt has covered six Olympic and six Commonwealth games.