ITF

58 R achel: I was pretty young at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, I would have been in my early 20s. It was amazing, I think we both looked at each other and thought this is pretty big. Bigger than a tennis tournament, which is what it was to us. That was good as we didn't put too much pressure on ourselves. We were just thinking of it as a normal tennis tournament so we didn't think about it until we stepped up on the podium. We'd had a good win because we beat Jana Novotna and Andrea Strnadova to get into the medal position. Our next match was against Arantxa [Sanchez Vicario] and Conchita [Martinez], and they were just too good. We played on clay in their hometown and so just to play against them was incredible too. The whole experience of each match, and just getting into that medal position, was just overwhelming. For me it is something that I can go and look at and that is always here and it is a big memory. I don't have big trophies for the round of 16 – something that is fantastic at the time at a Grand Slam but you haven't got anything to show what you've achieved – but the medal is always there, no-one can take it away from you. I think it gives you a world of confidence. In any sport, that is something that you really need because that is one thing I struggled with – confidence and belief in my game – and I think having that medal, coming home and soaking that up, it gave me a lot of confidence in the tournaments that followed and I reached my highest singles ranking after that. N icole: We didn't realise we were actually playing for a medal – Rachel and I – which sounds really silly, but it was just an exciting time and to be able to share it with someone else, as well, was great. I don't know whether Wendy [Turnbull, the Australian captain] was keeping that from us, but we just tried to focus on the match. It is something that I treasure, along with my Grand Slam mixed titles and my individual titles. It is very special. Australia has been very successful in winning medals in tennis so I think coming from Australia, and how we really appreciate our Olympians and have such a strong, rich history, not just in tennis but in other sports as well, it is certainly up there with all my other achievements. I went straight to America afterwards but I remember when I did come home, because of the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final. The medallists all got invited to the Grand Final and we got to go in cars around the Melbourne Cricket Ground and each of us was given a replica AFL trophy. That is one thing that did stick in my mind. My children now think it is pretty fascinating that I have got an AFL trophy. I met my husband [Australian Olympian in basketball Mark Bradtke], at the Olympics in Barcelona so yes, that was an exciting time. One of the big things they've got in Melbourne Park is the list of Olympic medallists, and my name is on there – my maiden name – and it is pretty exciting when you walk across the bridge and you show your children that you've got that. Getting the medal is pretty exciting, but it is also what happens afterwards that is pretty exciting. NICOLE BRADTKE & RACHEL MCQUILLAN Australia Getting the medal is pretty exciting, but it is also what happens afterwards that is pretty exciting.

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