Cathy Freeman
OAM
Freeman in 2008
Personal information
Full nameCatherine Astrid Salome Freeman
Born (1973-02-16) 16 February 1973
Mackay, Queensland, Australia
EducationKooralbyn International school
Fairholme College
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
OccupationAustralian sprinter/runner
Height164 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight56 kg (8 st 11 lb; 123 lb)[1]
Spouse(s)Sandy Bodecker (1999–2003), James Murch (2009–present)
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportSprint
University teamUniversity of Melbourne
Coached byStep-father Bruce Barber, Mike Danila, Peter Fortune
Retired1 July 2003
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2000 Sydney 400 m
Silver medal – second place1996 Atlanta 400 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place1997 Athens400 m
Gold medal – first place1999 Seville400 m
Bronze medal – third place1995 Gothenburg4 × 400 m relay
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place1990 Auckland4 × 100 m
Gold medal – first place1994 Victoria200 m
Gold medal – first place1994 Victoria400 m
Gold medal – first place2002 Manchester4 × 400 m
Silver medal – second place1994 Victoria4 × 100 m

Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman OAM (born 16 February 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event.[2] Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the eighth-fastest woman of all time, set while finishing second to Marie-José Pérec's number-four time at the 1996 Olympics.[3] She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.[4]

Freeman was the first Indigenous Australian person to become a Commonwealth Games gold medalist at age 16 in 1990.[5] The year 1994 was her breakthrough season. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, Freeman won gold in both the 200 m and 400 m. She also won the silver medal at the 1996 Olympics and came first at the 1997 World Championships in the 400 m event. In 1998, Freeman took a break from running due to injury. She returned from injury in form with a first-place finish in the 400 m at the 1999 World Championships. She announced her retirement from athletics in 2003.

In 2007, she founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation, now known as the Community Spirit Foundation.[6]

Career

Prior to 1987

Cathy Freeman was successful in school athletics events. After 1987, she was coached by her stepfather, Bruce Barber, to various regional and national titles.[7]

1987–1989

In 1987, 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.[7][8][9][10]

In 1988, she was awarded a scholarship to an exclusive girls' school, Fairholme College[11] in Toowoomba. In a competition in 1989, Freeman ran 11.67 s in the 100 metres and Danila began to think about entering her in the Commonwealth Games Trials in Sydney.[7]

1990–1995

In 1990, Freeman was chosen as a member of Australia's 4 × 100 m relay team for the 1990 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 1990 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 1990 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. There, she reached the semi-finals of the 100 m and placed fifth in the final of the 400 m.

Freeman competed in her second World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea. She competed only in the 200 m, winning the silver medal behind China's Hu Ling. Also in 1992, she travelled to her first Olympic Games in Barcelona, reaching the second round of her new specialty event, the 400 metres, and finishing 7th as part of the Australian team in the women's 4 × 400 m relay finals. At the 1993 World Championships in Athletics Freeman competed in the 200 m, reaching the semi-finals.

1994 was Freeman's breakthrough season, when she entered into the world's elite for the first time. Competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, Freeman won gold in both the 200 m and 400 m. She also competed as a member of Australia's 4 × 100 m squad, winning the silver medal and as a member of the 4 × 400 m team, who finished first but were later disqualified after Freeman obstructed the Nigerian runner. During the 1994 season, Freeman took 1.3 seconds from her 400 m personal best, achieving 50.04 seconds. She also set all-time personal bests in the 100 m (11.24) and 200 m (22.25).

Although a medal favourite at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Sweden, Freeman finished fourth. She also reached the semi-finals of the 200 m.

1996–2003

Freeman made more progress during the 1996 season, setting many personal bests and Australian records. By this stage, she was the biggest challenger to France's Marie-José Pérec at the 1996 Olympics.[12] She eventually took the silver medal behind Pérec, in an Australian record of 48.63 seconds. This was the fourth-fastest since the world record was set in Canberra, Australia, in 1985.[3] Pérec's winning time of 48.25 was an Olympic record.[3]

In 1997, Freeman won the 400 m at the World Championships in Athens, with a time of 49.77 seconds. Her only loss in the 400 m that season was in Oslo where she injured her foot.[13]

Freeman took a break for the 1998 season, due to injury. Upon her return to the track in 1999, Freeman did not lose a single 400 m race, including at the World Championships.[14]

Freeman also lit the torch in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.[15]

Freeman preparing to race in the Olympic 400 m final, Sydney 2000.

She continued to win into the 2000 season, despite Pérec's return to the track. Freeman was the home favourite for the 400 m title at the 2000 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.[16][17] Freeman won the Olympic title in a time of 49.11 seconds, becoming only the second Australian Aboriginal Olympic champion (the first was Freeman's 4 × 400 teammate Nova Peris-Kneebone who won for field hockey four years earlier in Atlanta).[18] 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.[19][20] Freeman also reached the final of the 200 m, coming sixth.[21] 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).

Throughout her career, Freeman regularly competed in the Victorian Athletic League where she won two 400 m races at the Stawell Gift Carnival.[22] Freeman did not compete during the 2001 season. In 2002 she returned to the track to compete as a member of Australia's victorious 4 × 400 m relay team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Freeman announced her retirement in 2003.[23]

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 2012.[24]

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 2014.[25]

Cathy Freeman Foundation

In 2007 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,[26] by offering incentives for children to attend school.[27] It partners with the AIEF and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.[28]

Personal life

Freeman was born in 1973 at Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland, to Norman Freeman and Cecelia Barber.[29] Norman was born in Woorabinda of the Birri Gubba people; Cecelia was born on Palm Island in Queensland, and is of Kuku Yalanji heritage.[30] 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 1966 and died in 1990. Anne-Marie had cerebral palsy and spent much of her life in the Birribi care facility in Rockhampton.[29]

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.[31]

Freeman's parents divorced in 1978,[32] after which her father returned to Woorabinda.[31]

Freeman has described how she has been influenced by early experiences with racism and also by the Baháʼí Faith.[29] 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."[33][34]

Freeman had a long-term romantic relationship with Nick Bideau, her manager, that ended in acrimony and legal wranglings over Freeman's endorsement earnings.[35][36] Freeman married Alexander "Sandy" Bodecker, a Nike executive 20 years her senior, in 1999. 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 2002.[37] She announced their separation in February 2003. Later that year, Freeman began dating Australian actor Joel Edgerton whom she had initially met at the 2002 TV Week Logies. Their relationship ended in early 2005.[38]

In October 2006, Freeman announced her engagement to Melbourne stockbroker James Murch.[39] They married at Spray Farm on the Bellarine Peninsula on 11 April 2009.[40] Freeman gave birth to her first child in 2011.[41]

Freeman is a supporter of National Rugby League team the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Australian Football League team the Carlton Blues.[42] 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 2000 and 2001.[43]

On 10 October 2023, 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.[44][45]

Media

She joined with actress Deborah Mailman on a road trip, a four-part television documentary series Going Bush (2006) where the pair set off on a journey from Broome to Arnhem Land spending time with Indigenous communities along the way.[46]

In 2008, 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 1917 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.[32][47]

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.[48]

Competition record

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Australia
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 1st 4 × 100 m relay 43.87
World Junior Championships Plovdiv, Bulgaria 15th (sf) 100m 11.87 (wind: -1.3 m/s)
5th 200m 23.61 (wind: +1.3 m/s)
5th 4 × 100 m relay 45.01
1992 Summer Olympics Barcelona, Spain 7th 4 × 400 m relay 3:26.42
World Junior Championships Seoul, South Korea 2nd 200m 23.25 (wind: +0.3 m/s)
6th 4 × 400 m relay 3:36.28
1994 Commonwealth Games Victoria Canada 1st 200 m 22.25
1st 400 m 50.38
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 43.43
IAAF Grand Prix Final Paris, France 2nd 400 m 50.04
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 4th 400 m 50.60
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:25.88
1996 Summer Olympics Atlanta, United States 2nd 400 m 48.63
IAAF Grand Prix Final Milan, Italy 1st 400 m 49.60
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 1st 400 m 49.77
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 1st 400 m 49.67
6th 4 × 400 m relay 3:28.04
World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:26.87
2000 Summer Olympics Sydney, Australia 6th 200 m 22.53
1st 400 m 49.11
5th 4 × 400 m relay 3:23.81
2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester, Great Britain 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:25.63

National championships

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEvent
1990 Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 2nd 100 m
1990 Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 3rd 200 m
1991 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 200 m
1992 Australian Championships Adelaide, Australia 2nd 200 m
1992 Australian Championships Adelaide, Australia 3rd 400 m
1993 Australian Championships Queensland, Australia 2nd 200 m
1994 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 100 m
1994 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 200 m
1995 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 2nd 200 m
1995 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 400 m
1996 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 100 m
1996 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 200 m
1997 Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 2nd 200 m
1997 Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 1st 400 m
1998 Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 1st 400 m
1999 Australian Championships Melbourne, Australia 1st 400 m
2000 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 200 m
2000 Australian Championships Sydney, Australia 1st 400 m
2003 Australian Championships Brisbane, Australia 1st 400 m

Circuit performances

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEvent
2000 Golden League 2000 – Exxon Mobil Bislett Games Oslo, Norway 1st 400 m
2000 Golden League 2000 – Herculis Zepter Monaco 1st 400 m
2000 Golden League 2000 – Meeting Gaz de France de Paris Paris, France 1st 200 m
2000 Golden League 2000 – Memorial Van Damme Brussels, Belgium 1st 400 m
2000 Grand Prix 2000 – Athletissima 2000 Lausanne, Switzerland 1st 400 m
2000 Grand Prix 2000 – CGU Classic Gateshead, Great Britain 1st 200 m
2000 Grand Prix 2000 – Melbourne Track Classic Melbourne, Australia 1st 400 m
2000 Grand Prix 2000 – Tsiklitiria Meeting Athens, Greece 1st 400 m

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Cathy Freeman". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Cathy Freeman: Running for her people". World Athletics. 8 July 2021. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Senior Outdoor 400 Metres Women". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  4. ↑ TorchRelay – Photos: Cathy Freeman lights the Olympic Flame Archived 13 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
  5. ↑ John Ashdown (11 January 2012). "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 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Cathy Freeman, Athlete".
  8. ↑ Cathy Freeman: The athletic proud of Australia Archived 27 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Sebastian Coe (14 January 2001). "Athletics: Making of a legend". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  10. ↑ Eamonn Condon (27 May 2001). "Freeman, still on the top of the world". The Electronic Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
  11. ↑ "Cathy Freeman". aiatsis.gov.au. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "The Top 10 Greatest Olympic Moments of All-Time". 21 July 2021.
  13. ↑ Barber, Step-father Bruce; Danila, Mike; Auckl, Peter Fortune Retired 1 July 2003 Medal record Women's athletics Representing Australia Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney 400 m Silver 1996 Atlanta 400 m World Championships Gold 1997 Athens 400 m Gold 1999 Seville 400 m Bronze 1995 Gothenburg 4 × 400 m relay Commonwealth Games Gold 1990; m, 4 × 100 m Gold 1994 Victoria 200 m Gold 1994 Victoria 400 m Gold 2002 Manchester 4 × 400 m Silver 1994 Victoria 4 × 100. "Cathy Freeman Facts for Kids". facts.kiddle.co. Retrieved 14 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Cathy FREEMAN – Australia – Defends World Championship 400m crown in Seville". sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "Cathy Freeman". 14 June 2005.
  16. ↑ "Perec out of Olympics". BBC Sport. 22 September 2000.
  17. ↑ "SYDNEY 2000; Perec Says Fear Overwhelmed Her". The New York Times. 29 September 2000.
  18. ↑ Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Peris, Nova Maree – Woman – The Australian Women's Register". womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Indigenous leaders want officials to drop ban on flags". The Age. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  20. ↑ "Olympic flags rule sparks anger". BBC News. 5 August 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  21. ↑ Wallechinsky, David; Loucky, Jaime. The Complete Book of the Olympics. Aurum Press, 2008, p. 300.
  22. ↑ "Top Ten Trivia – Stawell Gift". stawellgift.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  23. ↑ Johnson, Len (16 July 2003). "Cathy Freeman retires". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  24. ↑ Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  25. ↑ "Patron -". Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  26. ↑ "Cathy Freeman Foundation – home". Cathy Freeman Foundation – home. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  27. ↑ "Cathy Freeman on finding meaning and success in life after sport". ABC News. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  28. ↑ Jacobs, Sandra (1 July 2014). "The Cathy Freeman Foundation – closing the education gap". Bennelong Foundation.
  29. 1 2 3 Cos I'm Free (AKA Cathy Freeman) Archived 13 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Transcript, Message Stick, ABC Television, 11 March 2006.
  30. ↑ "Cathy Freeman OAM, b. 1973". National Portrait Gallery people. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  31. 1 2 Indigenous Australia: Catherine (Cathy) Freeman, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University website. Retrieved 7 August 2017
  32. 1 2 Catherine Freeman Who Do You Think You Are?. SBS One.
  33. ↑ 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 2006.
  34. ↑ Born to Run (extract) Archived 19 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Chapter 1 Running Free, Penguin Group (Australia)
  35. ↑ Raelene Boyle (22 March 2006) " Bideau's methods are make or break". The Sydney Morning Herald
  36. ↑ Brendan Gallagher (24 June 2004). Cathy Freeman tells her story. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
  37. ↑ Jacquelin Magnay (8 November 2002) "Sandy beats cancer", The Sydney Morning Herald.
  38. ↑ "Cathy and Joel split", The Age, 21 January 2005.
  39. ↑ Sheahan, Kate; Gullan, Scott (12 October 2006). "Cathy Freeman to wed again". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  40. ↑ "Sprinter Freeman walks down the aisle". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 April 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  41. ↑ "Cathy Freeman gives birth", The Age, 8 July 2011.
  42. ↑ "Olympic hero Freeman now a Shark". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 March 2005. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  43. ↑ Carayannis, Michael (6 October 2014). "Cathy Freeman a secret weapon behind South Sydney Rabbitohs' grand final success". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  44. ↑ Butler, Josh (11 October 2023). "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 2023.
  45. ↑ Winter, Velvet (10 October 2023). "Voice referendum live updates: Australians of the Year Yes vote letter in full". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  46. ↑ Going Bush at IMDb
  47. ↑ Cathy's family secrets – publisher: The Daily Telegraph (13 January 2008)
  48. ↑ Coulter, Michael (12 November 2021). "Sporting tattoos".
  49. ↑ "Cathy Freeman OAM - Australian of the Year". Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  50. ↑ Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 978-1-74196-809-5.
  51. ↑ It's an Honour entry – Australian Sports Medal – 26 January 2001 Archived 13 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Citation: World Champion 1997 and 1999, Commonwealth Champion 1994, VIS Award of Excellence 1997
  52. ↑ It's an Honour entry – Centenary Medal – 1 January 2001 Archived 13 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Citation: For outstanding service through sport
  53. ↑ It's an Honour entry – Medal of the Order of Australia – 26 January 2001 Archived 13 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Citation: For service to sport, particularly athletics
  54. ↑ "Olympic News – Official Source of Olympic News". International Olympic Committee. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  55. ↑ "Cathy Freeman". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  56. ↑ "Ms Catherine Freeman OAM". Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. qsport.org.au. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  57. ↑ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.

Further reading

  • Freeman, Cathy (2007) Born to Run Melbourne, Penguin Books Australia. ISBN 9780143302384
  • Hutcheon, Stephen (12 September 2020). "Tripping the flow: The clever physics hack behind Cathy Freeman's golden Olympic run". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  • McGregor, A. (1998) Cathy Freeman; A Journey Just Begun. Milsons Point, Random House Australia. ISBN 0-09-183649-2
  • White, L. (2013) "Cathy Freeman and Australia's Indigenous Heritage: A New Beginning for an Old Nation at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games", International Journal of Heritage Studies, Vol. 19, Issue 2, pp 153–170 (ISSN 1352-7258).
  • White, L. (2010) "Gender, Race and Nation at the Sydney 2000 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 185–200 (ISBN 9781433105098).
  • White, L. (2008) "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 0813-2577).
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