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Australia Aquatics

2000 Five Dollar

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This Olympic Aquatics commemorative coin was part of a set released following the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. They depict 28 forms of Olympic sports. It had a Raphael Maklouf design on the obverse depicting HM Queen Elizabeth II, right-facing, crowned with necklace and earrings along with the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2000. The reverse had an official Olympic logo with a swimmer in action and was designed by Philip Holliday.

The Olympic swimming events were eagerly awaited by all the spectators. There were 150 different countries competing in the Olympic swimming events. The USA were the greater force, but Australia had a great history and were now on home turf. There were thirty-two Gold medals up for grabs and competition in each and every category was fierce. In the Mens 50m freestyle event the biggest competitor for American Gary Hall, was his team mate Anthony Ervin. They could not be separated at the finish and both took Gold medals. Throughout the events, Australia managed to take five Gold medals, nine Silver medals and four Bronze medals.Arguably the best race of the games however, was the Mens 4 x 100m freestyle event. The USA had never lost this event in the history of the Olympics. The American team boasted Gold medallists from the 50m freestyle. The stage was set. It was a two horse race from start to finish. In each of the three first legs, the World Record time had fallen. After 3 legs the Australian team held a small advantage, cheered on by a very fired up crowd. It was Ian Thorpe vs Gary Hall. Hall instantly powered into the lead in the first 50m. But Thorpe (a middle distance specialist) saved himself to push on over the last 50m. He managed to pip Hall to the finish by a tiny margin and thus ending the American dominance of the event.The USA vs Australia team event continued into the 4 x 200m freestyle relay with Australia winning by a good margin of around five seconds from the USA. The Australians again smashed the World Record.

The original Olympic Games took place about 3,500 years ago but they didn't last. It was originally held during a religious festival honouring the Greek god Zeus. The Games were abolished in 393 A.D. by the Roman Emperor, Theodosius I, as he tried to suppress paganism. They restarted 1896 and were held in Athens, Greece. It was a great success. The International Olympic Committee had been formed two years earlier. The resurrection was an inspiration from Baron Pierre de Coubertin back in 1887. To be held every four years, as per Ancient Games, the Olympic Games became a great success. The first one to be held in Australia took place in Melbourne, 1956 (Sydney Olympic Games, 2010) . In 1993, Sydney was awarded the opportunity to host the 2000 Olympic Games. This was a chance for Australia to shine. And shine it did. The Sydney games broke so many records including ticket sales, attendances, transport,catering and most importantly, they finished fourth in the medal tables.