In one golden hour yesterday Australia re-established itself as an Olympic force. It’s a feeling that had been hard to capture through the past two Games in Rio and London where regrettably judgment resided in what had been lost rather than what was being won. A good measure of Australia’s worth is invested in our sporting performances internationally and the Olympics has long been the most acute measure. From gold medal hauls of 16, 17 and 14 across Sydney, Athens and Beijing Australia slipped to eight golds in both London and Rio and fell through eighth to tenth on the overall medal table.