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Australia's men's 4x100m freestyle relay team won a famous gold at the Sydney Olympics despite unsettling minutes leading into the final.

What's better than beating a cocky American to an Olympic gold medal? Beating four of 'em.

Not only did Australia's men's 4x100m freestyle relay team do that at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Michael Klim, Chris Fydler, Ashley Callus and Ian Thorpe also broke an American stranglehold on the event at the Olympics.

And they broke a world record in what Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser decsribed as "probably the greatest race I have ever seen".

Pre-Games, brash American freestyler Gary Hall boasted the Americans would "smash them (Australia) like guitars".

The Americans had never been beaten in a 4x100m freestyle relay at an Olympics since the event was introduced at the 1964 Tokyo Games.

In the next 56 years, Americans would set a fresh world benchmark time in the event an astonishing 16 times.

Entering Sydney, the Australians had just two swimmers ranked in the world top 10 in the 100m freestyle.

And entering the callroom before the final on the opening night of Sydney's games, Australia had just three swimmers: Thorpe was missing.

The 17-year-old sensation had just won the 400m freestyle gold medal but, five minutes before the relay final, was nowhere to be seen by his compatriots.

Thorpe had broken a zip on the full-body swim-suit he planned to wear.

He had only one in reserve, which was wet from wearing it during his 400m triumph. And it was proving difficult to get on.

Thorpe only joined his teammates as the Australian team was announced to a sell-out 17,500 crowd at the aquatic centre.

Moments later, Klim flew from the blocks and clocked a 100m world record, then Fydler and Callus held the Americans at bay.

The gold medal came down to the last leg: Thorpe versus Hall.

The American took a half-body length lead at the final turn, before the Thorpe reeled in Hall with just metres to go.

The Australians famously celebrated by playing air guitars.

"It just proves that just because you may not be the best on paper you can still win," Klim would later say.

"We proved to others that things are possible, even if they seem impossible."