Freeman, Cathy

Cathy Freeman, byname of Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman, (born February 16, 1973, Mackay, Queensland, Australia), Australian sprinter who excelled in the 400-metre dash and who in 2000 became the first Australian Aboriginal person to win an individual Olympic gold medal.

Freeman began competitive running on the advice of her stepfather. At age 17 she won a gold medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games as a member of the 4 × 100-metre relay team and was named Young Australian of the Year. In 1992 she became the first Australian Aboriginal person to compete in the Olympics. Although she failed to win a medal at the Barcelona Games, Freeman’s profile continued to grow, and she brought new attention to Aboriginal people, who had historically encountered discrimination. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games she captured gold medals in the 400-metre and 200-metre races, setting a national record in the 200 metres at 22.2 seconds, and also won a silver medal in the 4 × 100-metre relay. A succession of impressive victories in 1995, including a rare win against rival Marie-José Pérec of France, earned Freeman the number two world ranking for 400 metres. She held that ranking the following year, when she became the first Australian woman to break 50 seconds at 400 metres, which she did seven times in race finals.

Cathy Freeman

At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, in what was considered one of the greatest 400-metre matches, Freeman and Pérec led the field and were neck and neck down the final straightaway until Pérec outkicked Freeman, leaving her with a silver medal. Freeman finished the 1996 season with a string of Grand Prix victories at 400 metres, and, after a brief layoff, she returned to form in 1997 with the year’s fastest 400-metre time when she clocked 49.39 seconds at Oslo in July. At the world championships, with Pérec a no-show, Freeman won the 400-metre gold in 49.77 seconds to retain her number one world ranking.

Cathy Freeman

Popular both on and off the track, Freeman won the prestigious Australian of the Year honour in 1998. Two years later she captured her second world championship title in the 400-metre race. For the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, she was chosen to light the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony, an act some regarded as a move toward Aboriginal reconciliation (see Cathy Freeman: The Heart of a Nation). Under high expectations, Freeman went on to win a gold medal in the 400 metres. During her victory lap, she carried both the Australian national flag and the native Aboriginal flag. In 2000 she also won several Grand Prix titles at 400 metres. Freeman did not compete in 2001, but she was part of the 4 × 400-metre relay team that won a gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She retired from professional competition in 2003.

In 2007 Freeman established the Catherine Freeman Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on Indigenous children in Australia.