AT HER Brisbane funeral yesterday, Hannah Ciobo got the wedding she had long dreamed of, with her bridesmaids, groomsmen, husband, parents and family present. The family arrived at the funeral in a limousine, dressed in wedding attire, for the congregation to farewell their "beautiful bambina".

For her mother, it was an occasion that must have passed in a unique, encompassing pain. Tracey Wickham, an Olympic legend Australians have known for three decades, long ago learned to endure and conquer emotional extremes, but what could defeat this: seeing her daughter married and buried in the space of a week.

Somehow she found the words. "Hannah loved life and life loved Hannah. She was and still is my best girlfriend. I learnt a lot from her, she was my teacher and she was my rock."