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It was a battle between the king of the event and the young superstar vying to steal his crown, or the sentimental favourite and the up-and-comer yet to endear himself to the Australian sporting public.
Kieren Perkins, 27, had won the past two Olympic 1500m freestyle gold medals and had held the world record in the event for eight years.
Grant Hackett, 20, was about to make his Olympic debut.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see the clash between Kieren Perkins and Grant Hackett in the 1500m freestyle at the Sydney 2000 Olympics!
The public’s love of Perkins was so profound that at the trials for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, held in Sydney in May, the crowd chanted, “Perkins, Perkins, Perkins”. One journalist wrote at the time that Hackett may as well have been American.
Adding to the rivalry was that Perkins and Hackett had a frosty relationship.
That was despite the fact that Hackett had grown up idolising Perkins, so much so that he had his personal bests stuck to his bedroom wall.
Over the course of 30 laps at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, Hackett gradually worked up an unassailable lead, and when he touched the wall to win gold, Perkins was knocked from his throne.
Hackett won the race in 14 minutes and 48.33 seconds (14:48.33). Perkins, contesting the last race of his glittering career, collected silver with a time of 14:53.59.
Hackett clenched and raised his left hand, then punched the air with a clenched right fist. The Queenslander leapt around, then shook a finger at the crowd.
Perkins congratulated his younger rival while still in the pool. Shaking hands and patting Hackett on the back, the fellow Queenslander told him, “You deserve this”.
Hackett inflicted another blow on Perkins when he shattered his 1500m world record almost a year later, clocking 14:34.56 at the 2001 world championships in Fukuoka to shred seven seconds from his legendary rival’s mark.
Hackett held the world record for 10 years, until Sun Yang of China took it down.
Hackett successfully defended his Olympic 1500m gold medal in Athens in 2004 and went undefeated in the marathon event for a decade.