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    • Cathy Freeman

    Aboriginal Australian athlete and Olympic gold medallist (born )

    "Catherine Freeman" redirects here. For the British television producer, see Catherine Freeman (television producer).

    For the fictional character, see Kathy Freeman.

    Freeman in

    Full&#;nameCatherine Astrid Salome Freeman
    Born () 16 February (age&#;51)
    Mackay, Queensland, Australia
    EducationKooralbyn International school
    Fairholme College
    Alma&#;materUniversity of Melbourne
    OccupationAustralian sprinter/runner
    Height&#;cm (5&#;ft 5&#;in)
    Weight56&#;kg (8&#;st 11&#;lb; &#;lb)[1]
    Spouse

    Sandy Bodecker

    &#;

    &#;

    (m.&#;; div.&#;)&#;

    James Murch

    &#;

    &#;

    (m.&#;; sep.&#;)&#;
    CountryAustralia
    SportSprint
    University teamUniversity of Melbourne
    Coached byStep-father Bruce Barber, Mike Danila, Peter Fortune
    Retired1 July

    Catherine Astrid Salome FreemanOAM (born 16 February ) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the metres event.[2] Her personal best of seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set while finishing second to Marie-José Pérec's number-four time at the Olympics.[3] She became the Olympic champion for the women's &#;metres at the Summer Olympics, at which she had lit the Olympic Flame.[4]

    Freeman was the first Indigenous Australian person to become a Commonwealth Games gold medalist at age 16 in [5] The year was her breakthrough season.

    At the Commonwealth Games in Canada, Freeman won gold in both the &#;m and &#;m. She also won the silver medal at the Olympics and came first at the World Championships in the &#;m event. In , Freeman took a break from running due to injury. She returned from injury in form with a first-place finish in the &#;m at the World Championships.

    She announced her retirement from athletics in

    In , she founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation, which changed names twice (to Community Spirit Foundation[6] and later to Murrup[7]). She is of the Kuku-yalanji and Birri-gubba peoples.[8]

    Career

    Prior to

    Cathy Freeman was successful in school athletics events.

    After , she was coached by her stepfather, Bruce Barber, to various regional and national titles.[9]

    –

    In , Freeman moved to Kooralbyn International School to be coached professionally by Romanian Mike Danila, who later became a key influence throughout her career; he provided a strict training regime for the young athlete.[9][10][11][12]

    In , she was awarded a scholarship to an exclusive girls' school, Fairholme College[13] in Toowoomba.

    In a competition in , Freeman ran s in the metres and Danila began to think about entering her in the Commonwealth Games Trials in Sydney.[9]

    –

    In , Freeman was chosen as a member of Australia's 4 × m relay team for the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. The team won the gold medal, making Freeman the first-ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medallist, as well as one of the youngest, at 16 years old.

    She moved to Melbourne in after the Auckland Commonwealth Games. Shortly after moving to Melbourne, her manager Nic Bideau introduced Freeman to athletics coach Peter Fortune, who would become Freeman's coach for the rest of her career. She was then selected to represent Australia at the World Junior Championships in Athletics in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

    There, she reached the semi-finals of the m and placed fifth in the final of the m.

    Freeman competed in her second World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea. She competed only in the m, winning the silver medal behind China's Hu Ling. Also in , she travelled to her first Olympic Games in Barcelona, reaching the second round of her new specialty event, the metres, and finishing 7th as part of the Australian team in the women's 4 × m relay finals.

    At the World Championships in Athletics Freeman competed in the m, reaching the semi-finals.

    Biography, Facts, Olympic Medals ...: The Telegraph. Moreover, Freeman also has Syrian ancestry. Marion Jones. Interviews and feature reports from SBS News.

    was Freeman's breakthrough season, when she entered into the world's elite for the first time. Competing at the Commonwealth Games in Canada, Freeman won gold in both the m and m. She also competed as a member of Australia's 4 × m squad, winning the silver medal and as a member of the 4 × m team, who finished first but were later disqualified after Freeman obstructed the Nigerian runner.

    During the season, Freeman took seconds from her m personal best, achieving seconds. She also set all-time personal bests in the m () and m ().

    Although a medal favourite at the World Championships in Athletics in Sweden, Freeman finished fourth. She also reached the semi-finals of the m.

    –

    Freeman made more progress during the season, setting many personal bests and Australian records.

    By this stage, she was the biggest challenger to France's Marie-José Pérec at the Olympics.[14] She eventually took the silver medal behind Pérec, in an Australian record of seconds. This was the fourth-fastest since the world record was set in Canberra, Australia, in [3] Pérec's winning time of was an Olympic record.[3]

    In , Freeman won the m at the World Championships in Athens, with a time of seconds.

    Her only loss in the m that season was in Oslo where she injured her foot.[15][better&#;source&#;needed]This is a mirror site. Please replace with better source.

    Freeman took a break for the season, due to injury. Upon her return to the track in , Freeman did not lose a single m race, including at the World Championships.[16]

    Freeman also lit the torch in the Olympic Games in Sydney.[17]

    She continued to win into the season, despite Pérec's return to the track.

    Freeman was the home favourite for the &#;m title at the Olympics in Sydney, where she was expected to face-off with rival Pérec. This showdown never happened, as Pérec left the Games after what she described as harassment from strangers.[18][19] Freeman won the Olympic title in a time of seconds, becoming only the second Australian Aboriginal Olympic champion (the first was Freeman's 4 × teammate Nova Peris-Kneebone who won for field hockey four years earlier in Atlanta).[20] After the race, Freeman took a victory lap, carrying both the Aboriginal and Australian flags.

    This was despite unofficial flags being banned at the Olympic Games, and the Aboriginal flag, while recognised as official in Australia, not being a national flag or recognised by the International Olympic Committee.[21][22] Freeman also reached the final of the &#;m, coming sixth.[23] In honour of her gold medal win in Sydney, she represented Oceania in carrying the Olympic flag at the opening ceremonies of the next Olympics, in Salt Lake City, joining Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Africa), John Glenn (The Americas), Kazuyoshi Funaki (Asia), Lech Wałęsa (Europe), Jean-Michel Cousteau (Environment), Jean-Claude Killy (Sport), and Steven Spielberg (Culture).[citation needed]

    Throughout her career, Freeman regularly competed in the Victorian Athletic League where she won two &#;m races at the Stawell Gift Carnival.[24] Freeman did not compete during the season.

    In she returned to the track to compete as a member of Australia's victorious 4 × m relay team at the Commonwealth Games.

    Freeman announced her retirement in [25]

    Post-athletic career

    Since retiring from athletics Freeman has become involved in a range of community and charitable activities.

    She was an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) until [26]

    Freeman was appointed as an Ambassador for Cottage by the Sea (a children's holiday camp in Queenscliffe, Victoria), alongside celebrity chef Curtis Stone and big-wave surfer Jeff Rowley. Freeman retired from her position as Patron after 10 years in [27]

    Cathy Freeman Foundation

    In Freeman founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation.

    The Foundation works with four remote Indigenous communities to close the gap in education between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian children,[28] by offering incentives for children to attend school.[29] It partners with the AIEF and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.[30]

    Personal life

    Freeman was born in at Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland, to Norman Freeman and Cecelia Barber.[31] Norman was born in Woorabinda of the Birri Gubba people; Cecelia was born on Palm Island in Queensland, and is of Kuku Yalanji heritage.

    Cathy Freeman References [ edit ]. Retrieved 6 October I thought you were a private person," she said. Now, more than 10 years after she hung up that famous suit, the year-old is moving on to a new stage in her life that includes motherhood and building her very own foundation.

    Moreover, Freeman also has Syrian ancestry.[32][33][34] Freeman and her brothers Gavin, Garth, and Norman were raised in Mackay and in other parts of Queensland. She also had an older sister, Anne-Marie, who was born in and died in Anne-Marie had cerebral palsy and spent much of her life in the Birribi care facility in Rockhampton.[31]

    Freeman attended several schools, including schools in Mackay and Coppabella, but was mostly educated at Fairholme College in Toowoomba where she attended after winning a scholarship to board there.[35]

    Freeman's parents divorced in ,[36] after which her father returned to Woorabinda.[35]

    Freeman has described how she has been influenced by early experiences with racism and also by the Baháʼí Faith.[31] She was raised a Baháʼí, and says of her faith, "I'm not a devout Baha'i but I like the prayers and I appreciate their values about the equality of all human kind."[37][38]

    Freeman had a long-term romantic relationship with Nick Bideau, her manager, that ended in acrimony and legal wranglings over Freeman's endorsement earnings.[39][40] Freeman married Alexander "Sandy" Bodecker, a Nike executive 20 years her senior, in After her success in Sydney she took an extended break from the track to nurse Bodecker through a bout of throat cancer from May to October [41] She announced their separation in February Later that year, Freeman began dating Australian actor Joel Edgerton whom she had initially met at the TV WeekLogies.

    Their relationship ended in early [42]

    In October , Freeman announced her engagement to Melbourne stockbroker James Murch.[43] They married at Spray Farm on the Bellarine Peninsula on 11 April [44] Freeman gave birth to her first child in [45] In August Freeman and Murch announced their separation.[46]

    Freeman is a supporter of National Rugby League team the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Australian Football League team the Carlton Blues.[47] Freeman was also a part of the "Group of 14" who backed the return of the South Sydney Rabbitohs to the NRL following their exclusion in and [48]

    On 10 October , Freeman was one of 25 Australians of the Year who signed an open letter supporting the Yes vote in the Indigenous Voice referendum, initiated by psychiatrist Patrick McGorry.[49][50]

    Media

    She joined with actress Deborah Mailman on a road trip, a four-part television documentary series Going Bush () where the pair set off on a journey from Broome to Arnhem Land spending time with Indigenous communities along the way.[citation needed]

    In , Freeman participated in Who Do You Think You Are? and discovered that her mother was of Chinese and English heritage as well as Aboriginal.

    As a result of a Queensland policy that Aboriginal people could serve in the military if they had a European parent, her paternal great-grandfather, Frank Fisher served in the 11th Light Horse Regiment during World War I.[36][51]

    On her right arm, the side closest to the spectators on an athletics track, she had the words "Cos I'm free" tattooed midway between her shoulder and elbow.[52]

    Competition record

    International competitions

    YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventResult
    Representing &#;Australia
    Commonwealth GamesAuckland, New Zealand 1st 4 × m relay
    World Junior ChampionshipsPlovdiv, Bulgaria15th (sf) m (wind: &#;m/s)
    5th m (wind: +&#;m/s)
    5th 4 × m relay
    Summer OlympicsBarcelona, Spain 7th 4 × m relay
    World Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea2nd m (wind: +&#;m/s)
    6th 4 × m relay
    Commonwealth GamesVictoria Canada 1st m
    1st m
    2nd 4 × m relay
    IAAF Grand Prix FinalParis, France 2nd m
    World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden 4th m
    3rd 4 × m relay
    Summer OlympicsAtlanta, United States 2nd m
    IAAF Grand Prix FinalMilan, Italy 1st m
    World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece 1st m
    World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain 1st m
    6th 4 × m relay
    World Indoor ChampionshipsMaebashi, Japan 2nd 4 × m relay
    Summer OlympicsSydney, Australia 6th m
    1st m
    5th 4 × m relay
    Commonwealth GamesManchester, Great Britain 1st 4 × m relay

    National championships

    YearCompetitionVenuePositionEvent
    Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 2nd m
    Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 3rd m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Adelaide, Australia 2nd m
    Australian Championships Adelaide, Australia 3rd m
    Australian Championships Queensland, Australia 2nd m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 2nd m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 2nd m
    Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st m
    Australian Championships Brisbane, Australia 1st m

    Circuit performances

    YearCompetitionVenuePositionEvent
    Golden League – Exxon Mobil Bislett Games Oslo, Norway 1st m
    Golden League – Herculis Zepter Monaco1st m
    Golden League – Meeting Gaz de France de Paris Paris, France 1st m
    Golden League – Memorial Van Damme Brussels, Belgium 1st m
    Grand Prix – Athletissima Lausanne, Switzerland 1st m
    Grand Prix – CGU Classic Gateshead, Great Britain 1st m
    Grand Prix – Melbourne Track Classic Melbourne, Australia 1st m
    Grand Prix – Tsiklitiria Meeting Athens, Greece 1st m

    Awards

    References

    1. ^"Cathy Freeman".

      . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December Retrieved 20 January

    2. ^"Cathy Freeman: Running for her people". World Athletics. 8 July Archived from the original on 8 July Retrieved 8 July
    3. ^ abc"Senior Outdoor Metres Women".

      World Athletics. Archived from the original on 12 November Retrieved 15 August

    4. ^TorchRelay – Photos: Cathy Freeman lights the Olympic FlameArchived 13 November at the Wayback Machine. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
    5. ^John Ashdown (11 January ).

      "50 stunning Olympic moments No9: Cathy Freeman wins gold for Australia". The Guardian.

    6. ^"Our Story". Community Spirit Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 March Retrieved 26 May
    7. ^"Murrup | Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation I home".

      Murrup. Retrieved 25 July

    8. ^Australian Overseas Information Service (). "Olympic athlete Cathy Freeman".

      Cathy freeman biography australia news Visa rules, airfares and hot trends: How travel is changing in NZ Herald. Preceded by Marion Jones. Plovdiv , Bulgaria.

      National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 6 October

    9. ^ abc"Cathy Freeman, Athlete".
    10. ^Cathy Freeman: The athletic proud of AustraliaArchived 27 February at the Wayback Machine
    11. ^Sebastian Coe (14 January ).

      "Athletics: Making of a legend". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January Retrieved 21 April

    12. ^Eamonn Condon (27 May ). "Freeman, still on the top of the world". The Electronic Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March
    13. ^"Cathy Freeman". .

      3 June Retrieved 27 March

    14. ^"The Top 10 Greatest Olympic Moments of All-Time". 21 July
    15. ^Barber, Step-father Bruce; Danila, Mike; Auckl, Peter Fortune Retired 1 July Medal record Women's athletics Representing Australia Olympic Games Gold Sydney m Silver Atlanta m World Championships Gold Athens m Gold Seville m Bronze Gothenburg 4 × m relay Commonwealth Games Gold ; m, 4 × m Gold Victoria m Gold Victoria m Gold Manchester 4 × m Silver Victoria 4 × "Cathy Freeman Facts for Kids".

      . Retrieved 14 October : CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

    16. ^"Cathy FREEMAN – Australia – Defends World Championship m crown in Seville". . Retrieved 1 August
    17. ^"Cathy Freeman". 14 June Archived from the original on 19 December Retrieved 20 July
    18. ^"Perec out of Olympics".

      BBC Sport. 22 September

    19. ^"SYDNEY ; Perec Says Fear Overwhelmed Her". The New York Times. 29 September
    20. ^Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Peris, Nova Maree – Woman – The Australian Women's Register". . Retrieved 27 March
    21. ^"Indigenous leaders want officials to drop ban on flags".

      The Age. 1 August Retrieved 2 May

    22. ^"Olympic flags rule sparks anger". BBC News. 5 August Retrieved 2 May
    23. ^Wallechinsky, David; Loucky, Jaime. The Complete Book of the Olympics.

      Cathy freeman biography australia Retrieved 14 October Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Preceded by Marion Jones. Archived from the original on 12 November

      Aurum Press, , p.

    24. ^"Top Ten Trivia – Stawell Gift". . Retrieved 27 March
    25. ^Johnson, Len (16 July ).

    26. Biography, Facts, Olympic Medals ...
    28. Where is Olympic hero Cathy Freeman now?

      29. "Cathy Freeman retires". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 4 January

    29. ^Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Retrieved 16 July
    30. ^"Patron -". Archived from the original on 20 September Retrieved 23 September
    31. ^"Cathy Freeman Foundation – home". Cathy Freeman Foundation – home.

      Retrieved 27 March

    32. ^"Cathy Freeman on finding meaning and success in life after sport". ABC News. 8 June Retrieved 8 June
    33. ^Jacobs, Sandra (1 July ). "The Cathy Freeman Foundation – closing the education gap". Bennelong Foundation.
    34. ^ abcCos I'm Free (AKA Cathy Freeman)Archived 13 January at the Wayback Machine, Transcript, Message Stick, ABC Television, 11 March
    35. ^"Cathy Freeman OAM, b.

      ". National Portrait Gallery people. 18 March Retrieved 17 September

    36. ^Aiton, Jessie (). "Meandering through the Windsor Hotel when I encountered a memorable culture clash: Doug Aiton reflects on his interview with Cathy Freeman".
    37. ^"Face of the new, multicultural Australia".

      NZ Herald. 19 September Retrieved 20 August

    38. ^ abIndigenous Australia: Catherine (Cathy) Freeman, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University website. Retrieved 7 August
    39. ^ abCatherine FreemanWho Do You Think You Are?.

      SBS One.

    40. ^The love and pain that inspire Cathy, Top athlete may journey from the winner's podium to the Academy Awards by Michael Dwyer, The Age, 9 March
    41. ^Born to Run (extract)Archived 19 September at the Wayback Machine Chapter 1 Running Free, Penguin Group (Australia)
    42. ^Raelene Boyle (22 March ) " Bideau's methods are make or break".

      The Sydney Morning Herald

    43. ^Brendan Gallagher (24 June ). Cathy Freeman tells her story. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
    44. ^Jacquelin Magnay (8 November ) "Sandy beats cancer", The Sydney Morning Herald.
    45. ^"Cathy and Joel split", The Age, 21 January
    46. ^Sheahan, Kate; Gullan, Scott (12 October ).

      "Cathy Freeman to wed again". . Archived from the original on 15 September Retrieved 22 July

    47. ^"Sprinter Freeman walks down the aisle". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 April Retrieved 12 April
    48. ^"Cathy Freeman gives birth", The Age, 8 July
    49. ^"Olympic legend Cathy Freeman and husband James Murch announce separation after 15 years of marriage".

      . 16 August

    50. ^"Olympic hero Freeman now a Shark". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 March Retrieved 7 October
    51. ^Carayannis, Michael (6 October ). "Cathy Freeman a secret weapon behind South Sydney Rabbitohs' grand final success". The Sydney Morning Herald.

      Retrieved 7 October

    52. ^Butler, Josh (11 October ). "Australian of the Year winners sign open letter saying no vote in voice referendum would be a 'shameful dead end'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October
    53. ^Winter, Velvet (10 October ). "Voice referendum live updates: Australians of the Year Yes vote letter in full".

      ABC News (Australia).

      Cathy freeman Circuit performances [ edit ]. How to watch the 'planetary parade' at its peak in Australian skies. Retrieved 11 October Here's how Australia fared.

      Retrieved 11 October

    54. ^Cathy's family secrets – publisher: The Daily Telegraph (13 January )
    55. ^Coulter, Michael (12 November ). "Sporting tattoos".
    56. ^"Cathy Freeman OAM - Australian of the Year". Archived from the original on 27 August Retrieved 27 August
    57. ^Lewis, Wendy ().

      Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN&#;.

    58. ^It's an Honour entry – Australian Sports Medal – 26 January Archived 13 January at the Wayback Machine Citation: World Champion and , Commonwealth Champion , VIS Award of Excellence
    59. ^It's an Honour entry – Centenary Medal – 1 January Archived 13 January at the Wayback Machine Citation: For outstanding service through sport
    60. ^It's an Honour entry – Medal of the Order of Australia – 26 January Archived 13 January at the Wayback Machine Citation: For service to sport, particularly athletics
    61. ^"Olympic News – Official Source of Olympic News".

      International Olympic Committee. 27 March Retrieved 27 March

    62. ^"Cathy Freeman". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 September
    63. ^"Ms Catherine Freeman OAM". Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 26 January Retrieved 20 January
    64. ^Bligh, Anna (10 June ).

      "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May Retrieved 24 May

    Further reading

    • Freeman, Cathy () Born to Run Melbourne, Penguin Books Australia. ISBN&#;
    • Hutcheon, Stephen (12 September ). "Tripping the flow: The clever physics hack behind Cathy Freeman's golden Olympic run".

      ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

    • McGregor, A. () Cathy Freeman; A Journey Just Begun. Milsons Point, Random House Australia. ISBN&#;
    • White, L. () "Cathy Freeman and Australia's Indigenous Heritage: A New Beginning for an Old Nation at the Sydney Olympic Games", International Journal of Heritage Studies, Vol.

      19, Issue 2, pp – (ISSN&#;).

    • White, L. () "Gender, Race and Nation at the Sydney Olympic Games: Mediated Images of Ian Thorpe and Cathy Freeman". In L. K. Fuller (ed.) Sexual Sports Rhetoric: Global and Universal Contexts. New York: Peter Lang, pp – (ISBN&#;).
    • White, L. () "One Athlete, One Nation, Two Flags: Cathy Freeman and Australia's Search for Aboriginal Reconciliation", Sporting Traditions, Vol.

      25, Issue 2, pp 1–19 (ISSN&#;).

    External links