From the blue sky of Antibes to the Water Cube of Beijing, Alain Bernard had only one thing in mind: gold.

There was only one obstacle: A man from the other side of the globe who could change his golden dream into silver, Eamon Sullivan.

The distance fight between the two men became public last March after the French swimming giant broke the 100m and 50m freestyle world records at the European championship in Eindhoven.

Luca Marin, Peter van den Hoogenband and Stefan Nystrand all could have threatened his new records, but it was on the southern continent of Australia that the danger resided. There, Eamon Sullivan was meticulously preparing himself to meet the Frenchman. The 50m freestyle record holder before Bernard wrenched it from him, Sullivan needed only a few days at home in Australia to steal back the title on 50m, but he could not beat Bernard’s time on 100m distance.

The Aussie made it evident that he had not come to Beijing for sightseeing in the final of men 4x100m freestyle relay, finally won by the US team, bettering the individual record of 47.24 seconds.

The French swimmer, also a Gendarmerie recruit, rose a new challenge.

Two days later, at the 100m freestyle semi-final, the record fell again under the blue, white and red flag. Bernard’s joy was short-lived: A few minutes later, Sullivan responded in kind.

Only the Olympic final could separate the two champions. Amid high tension, 47.21 seconds after the start of the men’s final, Alain Bernard had earned the right to be crowned Olympic champion. Eamon Sullivan will “only” bring back the silver medal and an impressive new record on the 100m in his luggage. The Aussie will ahve to wait until Friday for the 50m final.

It is 5am in France, but the cockerel is already singing in Beijing. The Marseillaise vibrates in the Water Cube and, with tears in his eyes, Alain Bernard cannot find the words to the national anthem song. Luckily a few French supporters utter the chorus for the magical moment. No new record for the occasion, but a golden dream turned into a golden medal to bring back from the Water Cube of Beijing to the blue sky of Antibes.