ESPN Australia is celebrating its 30th birthday, and to mark the milestone we have ranked the 30 biggest sporting moments of the last three decades.
We have seen some incredible, dramatic, heartbreaking, heroic, tragic, controversial and exhilarating moments in sport since 1995 -- Aussie sport has really delivered it all. In July we picked 80 moments that define three decades and put them to a public vote. And thanks to your help we have been able to crown the No. 1.
So, what's the top Australian sporting moment of the last 30 years?
This is a three-part series with 10 moments featuring in each edition. Here are moments 10-1.
- The 30 biggest Aussie sporting moments of the last 30 years: 30-21
- The 30 biggest Aussie sporting moments of the last 30 years: 20-11
10. Ash Barty wins an emotional 2021 Wimbledon title
There's no bigger prize in the tennis world than a Wimbledon singles title. Australia's Ash Barty added her name to the prestigious honour roll in 2021, overcoming Czech Karolina Pliskova in a seesawing final.
Barty entered the showpiece match as a proven Slam winner, having won the French Open two years earlier, and it showed from the outset. She won the first 14 points, playing her usual composed and methodical style of tennis, to take firm control of the opening set, one she would comfortably run away with.
Pliskova fought back to level the match at a set apiece before Barty again raised her level in the deciding frame to win the match 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3. After clinching championship point, she dropped to her haunches in tears.
"This is incredible," she said during her on-court interview. "It took me a long time to verbalise, to dare to dream it and say it. I have to thank every single person in this stadium. You've made my dream so special."
Making it all the more sweet for Barty was that her triumph came on the 50th anniversary of her idol Evonne Goolagong Cawley's maiden title at the All England Club. -- Jake Michaels
9. Kieren Perkins' incredible 1500m Olympic gold medal swim in Atlanta
Just about every person on the planet had written off Kieren Perkins ahead of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Too old. Too slow. Too many others to contend with for gold. That was what most media outlets were running with in the lead up to the 1500m final, the event the Australian had dominated four years earlier in Barcelona.
That analysis seemed to be on the money after Perkins only just scraped into the final by 0.23s, but what followed a few nights later would go down in Olympic history as one of the all-time great unexpected triumphs.
From the dreaded lane eight, Perkins defied the odds and everyone's expectation to deliver the most remarkable of gold medals. He controlled the race from start to finish, stopping the clock in a time of 14:56.40 to win the race by over six seconds from compatriot Daniel Kowalski and successfully defend his Olympic title.
A sporting lesson was learned that day: never, ever, write off a champion. -- Jake Michaels
8. Shane Warne's 700th wicket in the Boxing Day Ashes Test
The script was written perfectly. Shane Warne's 699th Test wicket had regained the Ashes in Perth, so the stage was set for a final appearance on his home ground having announced he would retire at the end of the series. In the 47th over of England's first innings he pitched a delivery outside Andrew Strauss' off stump, the left hander looked to work into the leg side and the ball spun sharply back between bat and pad into the stumps, becoming the first bowler to 700 wickets.
"As a left-hander, you felt you were going to hit a lot of balls into that region off him - and he'd offered me a big gap," Strauss recalled to the Wisden Almanack in 2023.
"People who watch replays of the delivery ask why I played the shot, or how I could have missed it, as it didn't really do that much. But it needs context. You have to take the field setting into consideration. He bowled the ball wider, and I tried to fetch it from outside off stump. Once again, Warne was one step ahead. He did me - not for the only time."
Warne set off in a sprint towards the Great Southern Stand as he was roared on by the majority of an 89,155 crowd. He went on to finish with 5 for 39 to set up another thumping Australia victory.
"There are some special days that happen in your life and some special things that happen and that is definitely one of them," Warne said. "The birth of your children, getting married, playing your first Test, they're pretty special. From an individual point of view that's got to be one of the best days I've ever had." -- Andrew McGlashan
7. Hometown hero Ash Barty wins the 2022 Australian Open
Few countries have enjoyed tennis success quite like Australia. But only recently was the nation able to rejoice at once again -- after 44 long years -- having a home-grown Australian Open singles champion. And for that, we have Ash Barty to thank.
Heading into the 2022 season, Barty was the undisputed top player in women's tennis. She had taken out the French Open and Wimbledon titles in the prior 30 months, won the WTA Finals, and ascended to world No. 1. But the Australian Open, her home Grand Slam, was a box she was desperate to tick.
Barty breezed through the first week and a half at Melbourne Park to set up a blockbuster final against hard-hitting American Danielle Collins. Despite the enormous pressure cooker environment, and the expectation of a nation weighing heavily on her shoulders, the Queenslander remained her usual cool, composed self.
She played calculated yet confident tennis, a style that continually frustrated Collins and yielded cheap points. The home hero pocketed the first set 6-3, but Collins responded by racing to a 5-1 lead in the second frame. However, any concern that nerves might creep in were quickly put to rest, as a fearless Barty whittled away her opponent's advantage, took the set to a tiebreak, and duly won the match.
After winning championship point with a whipped forehand past Collins' outstretched right arm, Barty let out a primal roar as tears began streaming down her cheeks. Mission accomplished ... and without dropping a set all tournament!
Just two months later, Barty stunned the sporting world when she announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 25, but those memories will live forever. -- Jake Michaels
6. Ian Thorpe's gold medal swim in the 2004 Olympics - "Race of the Century"
World media loves dubbing just about any half exciting swimming final as the 'race of the century,' but the original, the men's 200m Olympic final in Athens, remains head and shoulders clear of the rest in terms of drama, watchability, and of course, Australian celebration.
Ian Thorpe vs. Peter van den Hoogenband. They were, and remain, two of the greatest exponents of the 200m distance in swimming history, combining to set eight world records in the event. But it wasn't just these two. American icon Michael Phelps had also thrown his hat into the ring, ready to crash the party and tie Mark Spitz's record for seven titles at a single Olympic Games.
In the final, van den Hoogenband set off with a lightning pace, leading the field through the first 150m under world record time. But when they turned for home, Thorpe, who had been stalking him throughout, kicked off the wall and mowed him down to win by half a body length in a time of 1:44.71, just 0.65 outside his world record time.
Van den Hoogenband held on for second place, while Phelps completed one of the most talented podiums in swimming history.
Thorpe's gold medal came two days after defending the men's 400m title. It would be the fifth and final Olympic gold medal of his decorated career. -- Jake Michaels
5. Steven Bradbury's extraordinary 2002 Winter Olympics gold
Here's how the even was reported on ESPN.com in 2002
The XIX Winter Games needed a character, a mascot, someone whose utter improbability could save the world from conspiracy theories and figure skaters with persecution complexes.
It got Steven Bradbury. Never in our wildest dreams...
He's got hair dyed the approximate color of a low propane flame and an eyebrow ring. His hair sticks up and his eyes bug out and everything about him seems to say, "What am I doing here?"
But the first thing to know about the Australian 1,000-meter short-track gold medalist is that he seemed to have forgotten about the broken neck. He was chronicling the injuries he has endured as a result of his sport, and the broken neck slipped his mind as he talked about the time his thigh was gashed and he lost four litres (out of a grand body total of six) while gaining 111 stitches.
This guy's story started out ridiculous and eventually settled on preposterous. He won his country's first Winter gold by being the slowest man skating but the last man -- the only man -- standing.
4. Tim Cahill's brace takes Australia to their first ever FIFA World Cup match win
After the jubilation of reaching the World Cup, the actual matter of competing in it began. And the task awaiting the Socceroos in Group F was a daunting one. Not only had they been drawn alongside reigning champions Brazil, but also Croatia and a Japan side that had reached the round of 16 in 2022 and entered as back-to-back Asian champions.
Australia, in contrast, was not only in search of its first win at a World Cup but also its first goal.
- Cometh the hour, cometh the man: Cahill's top five goals
And things didn't start that well in Kaiserslautern, with Shunsuke Nakamura putting the Samurai Blue ahead with a 26th-minute shot -- one wonders in the age of VAR about a potential foul on Mark Schwarzer -- and holding a 1-0 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
But then substitute Tim Cahill pounced to equalise in the 84th minute. 1-1.
Then, in the 89th minute, Australian football's golden child drilled an effort from outside the box off the post and in. 2-1.
Then, in the 92nd minute, John Aloisi drove into the box and shot into the bottom corner. 3-1 and an immortal 10 minutes in Australian sporting history. -- Joey Lynch.
3. Cadel Evans wins the 2011 Tour de France
On a gorgeous, sun-lit Sunday afternoon on the most famous boulevard in the world, Tina Arena stepped out of the shadows, and as the crowd hushed, eyes turned to a man from Katherine on the top step resplendent in yellow. "Australians all let us rejoice....."
For Cadel Evans, no climb he tackled in the 2011 Tour de France was bigger than the metaphorical mountain he faced 3 weeks earlier as the riders lined up at the Passage du Gois in Brittany. At 34, and with two runners up spots in Paris now a long way behind him, Evans was seen by many to be in the twilight of his career. A rider who came close to Maillot Jeune glory but ultimately fell short.
Instead, the new wave of riders - Alberto Contador a two-time champion, Andy and Franck Schleck, and Bradley Wiggins - were favoured to win in Paris. Evans was a veteran, good enough on his day, but not after 21 of them. Sporting fate, however, doesn't read scripts.
From the go, Evans was hunting. Hunting gaps to exploit, stages to target, crucial seconds to grab. An opportune move on stage 1 saw him come in second and gain 3 seconds. His BMC team rode a phenomenal Team Time Trial to grab a few more on the favourites. On stage 4, the short but brutal kick up to the finish at Mur-de-Bretagne, Evans outsprinted Contador to claim the stage win, his first at La Grande Boucle.
Meanwhile around him, things were unravelling for others. A crash on the road to Chateauroux saw Wiggins and Chris Horner retire from the race. Three days later another horror pile-up saw the race lose Alexander Vinokourov and Jurgen Van den Broeck. The field was thinning, and yet the biggest players remained, even a bruised and battered Contador, himself caught up in skirmishes on the road.
The race entered the Alps in the final week with Evans 2nd overall, and in control. Then came the attacks. Evans seemingly able to repel every move from Contador and the Schlecks. Until the Col du Galibier. One of the most feared summits in this race or any other. Andy Schleck, knowing he had to dislodge Evans, attacked the race just over halfway into the 200km stage. Schleck's margin over Evans hit 4'25. The yellow was headed to Luxembourg, unless...
Evans was in a small group of contenders who all looked at each other. Who is going to chase this down? For the Australian, memories of his second-place finishes, and opportunities that slipped. But not this time. Evans, through gritted teeth, dug deep and rode the stage of his life, clawing back more than 2 minutes on Schleck by the stage end. It would be the defining moment of not just a race, but a career.
Two days later in Grenoble, Evans and Schleck lined up for the decisive Time Trial. Schleck, not a noted time triallist, needed to hold the gap to Evans to less than 57 seconds to take yellow to Paris. Not today my friend. Evans rode the TT of his life, finishing second on the stage, 2'30" ahead of Schleck, and the golden fleece, the most iconic piece of cloth in cycling, was coming to Australia.
Aussie fans who cheered on Cadel in Grenoble, poured into the TGV's to Paris, drank the buffet car dry, and bathed in the moment. "We were there." The following day, Evans crossed the line in the peloton and was engulfed by his BMC teammates. History made. On the podium, the ever stoic, calm and humble Evans shed a tear, as Tina Arena sang the national anthem and Aussie flags fluttered along the Champs Elysees. Australian cycling, no, Australian sport had never seen a moment like this. Cadel Evans. Tour de France Champion. Australian sporting legend. -- Stuart Randall
Few sporting precipices are more elusive than the Tour de France crown, and that's exactly the peak Cadel Evans climbed in 2011.
2. John Aloisi's penalty sees the Socceroos qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
When John Aloisi stepped up to take Australia's fifth penalty in their shootout with Uruguay, a nation held its collective breath; the biggest moment in Australian football history was about to play out.
Moments prior, Socceroos keeper Mark Schwarzer had denied Marcelo Zalayeta with a save "as big as we've ever seen in Australia," ensuring that if Aloisi struck true, the Socceroos would be going to the men's World Cup for the first time since 1974, ending 32 years of heartache.
When destiny called, Aloisi answered, blasting his effort into the top corner and sending a nation into raptures. Australia exploded as one. Qualification had been secured and it had been distilled into one pure moment: the foreboding dread of Mark Viduka's miss with Australia's previous attempt, the hope returned by Schwarzer's save, the agonising wait for Aloisi's attempt, and the ecstasy of watching the ball hit the net.
For Australian football, it was a moment that will live forever, a reward for decades of hurt for the true believers and the moment where a new generation fell in love with the world game. -- Joey Lynch
John Aloisi carried the hope of a desperate football nation on his left boot, and his decisive strike from the spot would instantly become iconic.
1. Cathy Freeman wins 400m Olympic gold in Sydney
The top moment in our ESPN 30 countdown - Cathy Freeman's momentous victory in the 400m final at the Sydney Olympics to usher in the new millennium.
"This is where Cathy exploded in Atlanta ... Graham is in front of her, Freeman has work to do here. There's about 150 to go, Guevara and Merry right up ... it's going to be a big finish. Into the straight, Graham leads, Freeman runs up to her, Merry inside, Cathy lifting, goes up to Graham, takes the lead, looks a winner, draws away from Graham and Merry. This is a famous victory, a magnificent performance. What a legend ... what a champion."
Those famous words from commentator Bruce McAvaney were spoken 20 years ago today as the entire nation of Australia turned its attention to Cathy Freeman and the women's 400-meter final at the Sydney Olympics.
From the archives: How ESPN reported Freeman's victory in 2000
As she defied the pressure to cross the finish line first and become the first Aboriginal person to win Olympic gold in an individual event, the stadium and lounge rooms and bars across the nation erupted.
It's a moment most Australians, and many around the world, can still remember like it was yesterday. Here's how those there on the night recall the experience two decades later.
Donna Fraser (British competitor in the 400m final, finishing fourth in a personal-best time, and former training partner of Freeman's)
"I trained with Cathy that summer in the U.K., so we had a journey leading into Sydney, and it was an amazing friendship, a year I'll never forget, how we connected. It was my second Games -- I'd done it before, but, of course, having my training partner there, almost like my sister, was quite relaxing. God knows how she coped [with the pressure] -- during that summer when we trained together, we didn't really talk about the Games at all, it was just all training. The lead-up was something I hold dear to my heart because I probably wouldn't have got to the final without training with the best, and she was the best.
"She's a reserved athlete -- we did exchange the odd nod [pre-race], but I respected how she was, and if she's in her zone, just leave her alone. She was so focused. Most athletes are, but I knew her mannerisms and she was extremely calm.
"[After the race,] it was a bittersweet feeling -- I was over the moon for her, but I was gutted for myself because coming fourth, you don't get a medal. It was a roller coaster of emotions.
"[When we embraced after the race] -- all the pressure in the months and years had been lifted, and she was in a bit of disbelief and relief I guess, and all I said was, 'You did it! You did it!' ... that's all I remember saying. I was so proud of her, what she did in those circumstances. I knew how much it meant to her.
"I know how much her heritage and culture means to her, and for her to do that [carry both the Aboriginal and Australian flags in celebration] speaks volumes. And that sent such a huge message to her community, and she couldn't have done it any other way."
Heide Seyerling (South African competitor in the 400m final, finishing sixth with a national record)
"I can remember it as if it was yesterday -- just the whole warm-up, preparation -- everything, even the race pattern, running in the race lane. The thing that really stands out is the atmosphere. Obviously, Cathy was the local girl, but just the atmosphere in the stadium was electric. It was awesome.
"I think there was a lot more pressure on her, but for me, the whole experience was just awesome.
"She is [one of the best athletes I ever competed against] ... I mean, at the Olympics, I did feel for her, because there was a lot of pressure on her, being the local girl. Running into the Olympics, she was the favourite, as well, so I think that comes with a lot of pressure, as well.
"It's tough when you run at home and you're the favourite, because anything can happen on the day."
Falilat Ogunkoya (Nigerian competitor in the 400m final, finishing seventh)
"I tried to shut out all of that frenzy and just focus on my own race. But for her, to be in her country and everybody rooting for her to win, it was very surreal. The atmosphere, when we were walking in, was very different from my other Olympics. You could barely hear anything. It was such an electric feeling that even if you wanted to be in your zone, you could not help but feel it and get some goose pimples. Everybody loved her, and I would say that the 400m was the icing on the cake for her.
"I think I had a problem with my leg at the time, so just making it to the final was a big deal for me. Everybody in that race was a great athlete -- to make it to the Olympic final is not easy. I just wanted to do my best in that race, and I am sure it was the same thing for everybody else.
"For Cathy, to win in her own country with everybody behind her and all of that pressure, was a massive achievement for her, and I think it was very special."
Patrick Johnson (retired Indigenous sprinter and holder of the Australian and Oceania men's 100m record of 9.93 seconds)
"I was in the stadium. I had chosen to stay around as I knew how important it was for Cathy; she was so focused on what she needed to do. I'd had competitions overseas with her, and we all understood the pressure, but at the end of the day, it's her race. So I just wanted to be in the stadium, to will her on so to speak, and the rest of the country was willing her on, as well.
"But I think the big feeling was just relief and celebration, of course, to see her cross the line in first place having known what she'd gone through. I didn't get to talk to her after the race, but a couple of years later, we caught up.
"But that was her moment and everyone was just happy that she was able to run the race she wanted and win gold. I think it just showcased the Indigenous talent that is out there, although Cathy was a one-of-a-kind athlete.
"We want to see more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders representing Australia, but also people from different nationalities and backgrounds to believe that anything is possible. We want to show them that if you have the heart, the mind, the will and the belief, you can achieve anything."
Dave Culbert (commentator, ex-Olympian and former teammate and housemate of Freeman's)
"I was part of the Channel 7 commentary team, doing the field events -- I was commentating the triple jump that night.
"A lot of the field events were live and uninterrupted from start to finish on the pay channel -- that night, the pole vault and triple jump were, so we were live and nonstop. I can't remember who was on the runway, but the roar was enormous when Cathy came out, and ... I kept on commentating, but I said at one point just before they went to the blocks, 'There's silence in the stadium -- we all know why, and like everyone else in Australia, I'm now going to be watching that,' and then I didn't speak! And I was pretty confident that no-one else in the control room or anywhere else was watching anything other than Freeman's race. I love my triple jump, but not quite that much at that moment.
"Cathy came up to the commentary box, and Bruce [McAvaney, fellow commentator] interviewed her virtually straight after the medal ceremony -- but again, it's just: she appears, interview happens, say your congratulations, you're still working and that's it.
"When you're working at the Games ... to a degree it was just another session, as the morning sessions flow into the night sessions, which flow into the next morning ... it goes on and on for 17 days. It was obviously exciting, and there was an elevated element of 'it was Cathy's night,'
"At the Olympics, every five minutes there's another historic moment -- you go from one to the next, and it's not until the end of the night that you sit back and go, 'Wow' ... Michael Johnson's race was next! It was always, 'What's next?'
"I still had four or five days of the athletics to go -- it was like [being] midway through a marathon. But the enormity of all she achieved sinks in now than it did immediately afterwards."
Bill Dwyre (longtime sports editor at the Los Angeles Times, Olympic coverage pioneer and historian)
"The press loves a good, uncomplicated story. That was clearly what this one was. She was not a white girl from suburban Melbourne taking on other suburban white girls from other countries, or taking on the powerhouse crew from Jamaica. She was homegrown, loved and could make Australia feel good about itself as an inclusive, open-to-all-to-represent country, which it probably is.
"As it got closer to the race, there was some building of pressure. I remember the local papers overdoing it, just as we overdid everything local in the LA Times during the '84 Olympics. That's human -- and local-paper -- nature.
"The night of the race, my memory was that -- both from the newspapers and media that had hyped the hell out of this for so long, to the general fan who had bought into it -- everybody seemed uptight. What if she failed? What if she choked? Would that be an international-sports blemish on Australia? I remember remarking to one of my reporters that all the hoopla and anxiety seemed a bit misplaced because, looking at all the results and her career coming into this race, she was the best runner and would win. That was the first and last time my prediction on sports of any kind has been correct.
"In the end, it was a nice story that fulfilled expectations and let us all revel a little longer in the warmth and tears of joy that the Olympics promote and to which we, in the media, click our heels, salute and fall right into line."