00:00Who could ever forget it?
00:05But Mel Davies' memory of Cathy Freeman's famous race is sharper than most, as the man
00:11who fired the starting gun.
00:12I recall standing in the tunnel, where we marched on as it were, just near the finish
00:21line.
00:22I like to remember looking at my watch and saying, well I suppose we'd better go and
00:26do this then.
00:27And actually I was not nervous at all.
00:33The rest, as they say, was history.
00:36It had been a long road to the Sydney Olympics, as Mel Davies built a reputation, until he
00:41became a Grade 1 starter.
00:44To get there, he had to follow strict protocol in perfect time.
00:48Blow the whistle, get set, fire.
00:52But his first race at the Games didn't start well, when his whistle set off the computer
00:57linked to the starter's gun, delaying the race.
01:00We learned a quick lesson there.
01:03Blow your whistle, but turn away from the, face the infield.
01:06When it came to the big race, even he was apprehensive, believing Cathy Freeman was losing as he saw the
01:13runners round the final corner.
01:15And then she was gone, as fast as she arrived.
01:18He didn't get a chance, even after the race.
01:22She was spirited away so quickly through the tunnel, with a minder.
01:27I didn't even get her autograph.
01:30But that didn't dampen the starter's moment.
01:33Yeah, it was probably the greatest race ever, as far as I'm concerned.
01:36A life spent witnessing history from the starting line.
01:40I'm sorry, he wasn't携帯.
01:43James on the next week.
01:50He won Ī regn機i poise.
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