Olympics: Magic moments

By DAVID LEGGAT and EUGENE BINGHAM

Best overall moment

The King is fifth, long live the King.

Kenenisa Bekele completed his eclipse of fellow Ethiopian, and track legend, Haile Gebrselassie in the 10,000m final. He had already grabbed the 5000m and 10,000m world best times off his hero in the European season.

Gebrselassie was chasing a third straight gold but didn't have the legs and finished fifth.

Bekele's stunning sprint round the final lap was simply awesome.


Best New Zealand moment

Sarah Ulmer's gold medal ride in the 3000m individual pursuit.

For the win, but also breaking her own world record set the day before, when all the heat was on her. Nine times Ulmer, runner-up Katie Mactier and bronze medal winner Leontien Zijlaard van Moorsel beat Ulmer's world record set in Melbourne in May in the course of 24 hours.

Ulmer proved herself the world's dominant woman track rider. As she would say, it was wicked.

International moment

There could be only one: Hicham El Guerrouj had been crowned the king of middle distance, even though he had never won a gold medal before Athens.

Fifty metres from the line in the race of the Games, it looked like he was to be denied gold again as Bernard Lagat inched his chest in front.

The Moroccan asked his body to find something else, some special ounce of energy to drive him past Lagat, and this time he was able to get there, sending the crowd into raptures.

The race itself was more brilliant than even the magical 10,000m final at Sydney where Haile Gebrselassie just pipped Paul Tergat.

Afterwards, the kiss El Guerrouj gave to his baby, Hiba, and his dance to the Zorba music blaring over the stadium speakers are unforgettable moments of joy and the triumph of determination.

New Zealand moment

The most revealing sporting achievements come a minute after finishing when that feeling of satisfaction of victory is overpowered by exhaustion.

When Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell crossed the finish line first in the women's double sculls, it was the end of seven years hard, hard work.

But the effort required to beat off the charging German crew, less than one second back, meant that they were unable to celebrate immediately, instead sitting hunched over their knees in the boat.

Champions know how to push their minds and bodies beyond limits others dare not, and how to perform to their very best at the most important moment.