If ever Emily Seebohm was going to put a stake through the demons of London, this was the night. The Olympic silver medallist has taken a giant step towards mending the mental scars of 2012 by defeating arch-rival Missy Franklin in the 100 metres backstroke at the Pan Pacs on the Gold Coast.
On a miserable night at the new outdoor pool at Southport, Seebohm held her nerve to beat the teenage Olympic champion for the first time, after the American had struggled through the heats with back spasms.
This was a win Seebohm badly needed after her meltdown in London, in which she set an Olympic record in the heats before Franklin, a revelation on the way to four golds in 2012, touched her out in the final.
The Queenslander was reduced to tears, and was widely criticised for her reaction, but she is slowly but surely trying to get her career on track towards Rio in 2016.
She has been seeing team psychologist Georgia Ridler and working on ways to deliver under pressure. Glasgow was a significant step but with America in the house and in front of a home-town crowd, this was the moment Seebohm rose to the occasion.
She pinged the start and surfaced a body length ahead of Franklin and teammate Belinda Hocking, who would take silver. She turned well clear, spied Franklin out of the corner of her eye and never looked back, rocketing home to set a Pan Pacs record of 58.84 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year.
"I felt pretty comfortable with that first 50 [metres] and seeing where she [Franklin] was out of the corner of my eye, it definitely gave me a bit more on that back 50, which was exactly what I needed," Seebohm said.
"I haven't done it yet [beaten Franklin] and that gives me a lot of confidence going through. I was in lane four, I had a lot of pressure on me and I was able to overcome that and get up there and win the gold. That's exactly what I wanted in front of my home crowd."
Franklin had laboured during the morning sessions, missing the finals of the 200-metre freestyle but making it through to the 100-metre backstroke decider. She swam the B final of the 200-metre free on Thursday night and looked as if she had shaken her ailment, clocking 1:56.04, which would have won silver in the A final.
But she was away slowly against Seebohm and the Australian burned clear by the time Franklin found her stroke.
"A win is a win and sometimes you don't feel fantastic and have to get out there and do your best," Seebohm said. "I pretend every athlete is at their best and that's what I'm competing against."
The victory capped off a good night for Australia, with world No.1 Thomas Fraser-Holmes taking out a thrilling men's 200-metre freestyle final from Japan's Kosuke Hagino and Australian teammate Cameron McEvoy. Americans Conor Dwyer and Ryan Lochte were next.
Fraser-Holmes, a Gold Coast local, hit the wall in 1:45.98, shading Hagino (1:46.08) and using his huge reach to embark on a powerful final 25 metres to add the Pan Pacs title to his Commonwealth gold.
"It's the perks of having long arms I suppose," Fraser-Holmes said. "That last lap was crazy and when I touched the wall all the guys from Miami [swimming club] were there and it was something special."
American Katie Ledecky smashed the fields in the 200-metre and 800-metre freestyle.
Michael Phelps will make his first appearance on Friday, when he contests the 100-metre freestyle.
