September 2000, Australia just days away from the biggest sporting event the country had seen.

The anticipation had been building for seven long years, from the moment Juan Antonio Samaranch said those famous words back in 1993.

"The winner is Sydney."

Yes there was a sense of nervousness, an underlying anxiety and fear of the Games turning into a disaster. Concerns over public transport failures and venue readiness lingered.

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But ultimately the nation was filled with excitement.

That excitement continued to grow as the Olympic torch weaved it's way around Australia. The flame taking in some of the country's most memorable sights, from Uluru to the Great Barrier Reef.

Ultimately it arrived in Gerringong and Kiama on September 10 before working its way north through Wollongong a day later.

Transporting the flame were some of our region's most recognisable faces, and many unheralded heroes.

For every sporting legend like Ron McKeon, Gordon McLeod and Kerryn McCann, there was someone with a lower profile, but every bit as important a contributor to the region. Those torch bearers included Dave Power, Bill Boyce and Jill Cook.

The relay brought the people of the Illawarra together like few events before and fewer since.

Not only was it an opportunity to participate in a sliver of Olympic history and create our own unique memory, but it was also a chance to celebrate the region.

To congratulate and thank those who had been nominated by the community to represent the Illawarra as the torch made its way through the city.

And the public turned out in droves. From Gerringong all the way up to the northern suburbs, people lined the streets to cheer on the torch as it completed the final stages of the lengthy journey from Olympia, Greece to Stadium Australia.

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For McLeod, the importance the event holds within the Olympic movement was not lost on him, or the other runners.

"It's such a big tradition in the Olympic movement, the flame being lit, then how it gets its way to the host country," McLeod said.

"Being involved in the relay with a whole lot of different people, not just sports people, it was great. You feel honoured and special to have the opportunity to do it.

"I still have the uniform. It was funny, I was the number 23 runner on my shirt, which in basketball is Michael Jordan's number."

We may be celebrating 20 years since the relay, but McKeon, who carried the torch through Unanderra, still remembers the day vividly.

One lasting image stands out.

"I remember jumping on the bus with all the other torchbearers," McKeon said. "That was special."

"We were all excited, nervous, it was just one of those really special times. It wasn't even just the run, but just being on the bus with all those that ran, it was very surreal."

For both McLeod and McKeon, the torch relay served as a trigger for past memories to come flooding back.

The pair represented their country at the 1980 Moscow Games, McLeod on the basketball court, McKeon in the swimming pool, with the latter going on to compete in Los Angeles four years later.

Sydney, then, marked 20 years since they joined Australia's elite club of Olympians, and McKeon recognises how important it was the country made the controversial decision to attend those Games.

"Being an Olympian, it holds a very special and almost sacred piece of your heart, it was a very proud day.

"Celebrating 20 years from the 1980 Olympics, and we recently had a 40 year reunion, was special. Those Olympics were marred by the boycott, but they were certainly important in the next 20 years and having Sydney host it.

"Australia hasn't missed an Olympics and 1980 wasn't going to be the one we missed, we made sure of that. That was certainly part of the reason why Sydney was looked at favourably by the IOC to host in 2000."

While all involved have positive memories of the torch relay, the event did not go off without a hitch.

World Champion surfer Tom Carroll was carrying the flame through Kiama when one punter decided it a good idea to jump the fence and claim a unique souvenir.

Illawarra Mercury photographer Sylvia Liber had followed the torch relay for four incident-free days from Eden to Kiama. Then a brief moment of pandemonium.

"I was walking through the crowd and heard this commotion," Liber said. "I looked up and this guy was getting arrested.

"I remember lots of yelling and screaming. It all happened so quickly, the police responded quickly, they grabbed him, arrested him and walked him away.

"Tom just continued on like nothing happened."

The surfer was one of a host of non-Olympic athletes invited to hold the flame throughout its journey.

Former Steelers legend Rod Wishart carried the torch through the streets of Gerringong, with thousands turning to watch the torchbearers run.

A sporting tragic, Wishart has always appreciated the magnitude of the Olympic Games, but that experience, he said, took his understanding to an even greater level.

"To be invited to be part of the torch relay, it was just a massive privilege more than anything else to be part of something so big globally," Wishart said.

"For us to have it in Australia, in Sydney, right on our doorstep, to be part of that was really humbling. It was a great opportunity to be part of the Olympics in a small way.

"It really snowballed, you quickly think 'wow, this is the Olympics and this is the torch.'

"There's so much history that goes with the Games and the flame. I've been involved in sport in different ways, but the Olympics is just another level."

Wishart may not have had the opportunity to compete at an Olympics, but he remains one of few Illawarra athletes to have performed in front of 110,000 fans at what was then known as Stadium Australia.

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The match brings terrible memories for many Illawarra residents, the 1999 NRL grand final loss to Melbourne remaining one of the biggest what-ifs in the Dragons tortured history as a joint venture.

But the legacy left by the Games remains a lasting positive for Wishart and reflective of the wider impact the sporting event had on Australia.

This wasn't simply a travelling circus that provided athletes with two weeks to shine before moving on to the next city.

The torch relay and all events leading up to the Games brought the community together and generated a renewed love for the country and for sport.

Add to that the venues left behind and the opportunities the Games provided the country's athletes and 20 years later Wishart can still see the positive impact the Sydney Olympics had on the community when he walks the streets of Gerringong.

"It created a facility not just for the Olympics, but for rugby league clubs and other sporting teams and athletes that could take advantage of the facilities that became available.

""It really did kick along Australian's enthusiasm for sport. It gave us the confidence that we did really well and we are as good as anyone in the world.

"Everyone in Gerringong, for such a small community we've always produced some good sportspeople. With the Olympics, we were building on each other's enthusiasm and the kids were hoping to be a part of it."