On July 21 (NZT), 1996, Dunedin swimmer Danyon Loader became the first Kiwi to win an individual Olympic gold medal in the pool, taking out the 200m freestyle at Atlanta.
"We always felt confident with the 400m freestyle, but the 200m depended on whether or not he had the speed," recalled NZ swimming head coach Mark Bone.
"Danyon was in really, really good shape and [Loader's coach, Duncan Laing] just kept saying 'son, you're there, you've got it'."
Qualifying in lane five for the final, Loader, 21, sat on the shoulder of the leaders in the early stages and outlasted a challenge from Brazilian Gustavo Borges down the final 50 metres, recording 1min 47.63sec.
"I was taking the splits, thinking 'this guy's in shape, this guy's going to do it ... these are great splits'," said Bone. "Even at the 100, we knew he was right there - it was better than he'd gone.
"That last 25, he just kicked into another gear and moved away. At the end, when it was identified he had won, Duncan just started crying."
Two days later, Loader, who had won silver over 200m butterfly at the previous Olympics, added gold in the longer distance.
He was named NZ Sportsman of the Year three times, winning the supreme Halberg Award in 1996 and also Athlete of the 1990s.