I just watched the Netflix Untold episode Race of the Century with the folks. It told the story of when Australia II became the first challenger in 132 years to win the old mug from the New York Yacht Club. I distinctly recall my mother waking my just turned 9 yo self, at something like 4:30-5am, to come to their room as we were going to win it (of course she waited until the start of the final leg). I sat in their bed with my older sister and together we watched that cannon fire and then all hell break loose on the water.

So many things about that moment in history bring on powerful emotions to this day. The song 'Land Down Under', the boxing kangaroo flag, our PM's famous warning to bosses, raising the boat from the water. Nearly 40 years later and all three of us were a little teary watching that episode.

There are (for me) perhaps two sporting moments that united us in pride. The America's Cup victory and 400m sprinter Cathy Freeman winning gold at the Sydney Olympics; hosting the event closely linked. However I feel that it was the Cup that stands above all other moments, not just because of the pure joy it brought us, but because I think it put Australia on the map globally. The celebrations that followed seemed to go on forever. Perhaps that's biased as it was also my home city where the Cup came back to.

So it got me thinking about what others feel was their country's proudest sporting moment? Does the moment that grabs you the most differ from what you think the country would vote for? For countries like the USA (with such a rich history of sporting success) I wonder whether it's easy to single out moments that people still talk fondly about years later, where you recall exactly where you were at the time?

Note I'm referring to publicly proud moments as opposed to when your child etc did something great.