The Water Cube was almost silent as a slight blonde man who two years earlier was not even diving leapt off the ten metre platform, twisted and somersaulted through the air and slid into the water with just the slightest of splashes.

Matthew Mitcham resurfaced to an explosion of applause and as the judges’ scores came up his smile of delight dissolved into tears of disbelief.

He had snatched a medal gold from the Chinese favourites with just one, perfect dive.

For the next hour the Australian looked how I always imagined Olympic gold medalists should — overwhelmed with disbelief and delight.

In some ways it was incredible Mitcham was even in Beijing, much less topping the podium. He had battled depression and burnout, retired and come back before he turned twenty. And shortly before he came to Beijing he went public about his sexuality, the only openly gay male athlete at the Olympics.

I felt sorry for the Chinese diver who came second. But after watching his team mates take the other seven medals, some apparently more relieved to have done their duty than excited about the result, it was an unforgettable upset.

Kevin Fylan adds: This is the fourth in our series of snapshots from the Beijing Games, where Reuters reporters give their thoughts on what it was like to be there at the key moments of the Olympics.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 1: Matt Emmons, by Erik Kirschbaum here.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 2: Matthias Steiner, by Sophie Hardach here.

Read Snapshot Beijing, 3: Usain Bolt, by Paul Majendie here.

More to follow over the course of the day.

PHOTO: Matthew Mitcham of Australia competes in the men’s 10m platform diving final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 23, 2008. REUTERS/Phil Noble

After years of seeing just a hole in the ground, then a mess of construction cranes, then mysterious activity going on behind barrier walls, yesterday I finally got to enter the Water Cube.

There’s no doubt that it’s impressive from the outside. The rectangular building is known for its transluscent facade that evokes giant soap bubbles and at night the whole thing glows in hues of blue, a warm beacon on the otherwise grey and beige horizon of Beijing.

Too many buildings impress from the outside but inside could be any other office block or stadium. Not so with the Cube.

Inside, its ceiling extends all the way up to the soap-bubbled roof, allowing in natural light and an environment that avoids any cloying chlorine stuffiness.

What really blew me away though was the facade itself, made of a material called ETFE, a durable plastic that filters light and is a better insulator than glass. The material is such a curiosity that there is a designated place in the stadium where visitors are allowed to touch it.

What does it feel like? A lot like plastic wrap. It’s bendy to the touch and feels like you could poke a finger right through it. (I didn’t try.)

There are two layers of it and in between you can see some of the steel bands that form the structural supports, but still, it’s amazing that a material that seems so flimsy can keep the whole thing together.

I’d been impressed before by the architecture; now the whole building feels like a magic trick.

PHOTO: The National Aquatic Centre, also known as the ‘Water Cube’, during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 8, 2008. REUTERS/Hans Deryk