Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM (born 16 February 1973) is a former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 currently ranks her as the sixth fastest woman of all time, set while finishing second to Marie-Jose Perec's number three time at the 1996 Olympics. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame. Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medalist at age 16 in 1990. 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 in the 1996 Olympics and came first at the 1997 World Championships, both in the 400 m event. 1998 saw Freeman taking a break from running due to injury. She returned to form with a first place in the 400 m at the 1999 World Championships. She announced her retirement from athletics in 2003.
I was going to shave it. It went in two parts. I got a bob first but it kept falling all over my face. Then it was off, short. The main reason it was long was because my mother cut it short when I was little and I was trying to make up for that.
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I made my first Australian senior team when I was 16, first Olympics when I was 19, and I retired. I'm 32, I retired four years ago, so a good third of my life or nearly a third of my life has been all about running.
3
I feel like I've reached an age where I can relax a little bit with the knowledge of what I've been through, take all that experience and use it. I love the challenge of trying to get back to where I've been, and beyond it.
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With Alexander's cancer, I was definitely brought to my knees for the first time because of the fear factor.
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This occasion is personally very meaningful and I hope to visit Korea again if I have the chance.
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The thing I do best is laugh.
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People could see in me who I am now, an Olympic champ, the best in the world.
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Peace, unity and harmony!
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My last real race was at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.
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I'm not a marriage expert, quite clearly.
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I was running since I was 10. Since grade one at school people looked at me and thought, oh gosh she can really run, she's a natural.
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I was always surrounded by expectation from the very first race I ran as a 5-year-old.
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I want to keep my private life private.
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I make no apologies.
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I like looking feminine and I enjoy being a role model. I enjoy being a woman. It all comes down to having the confidence to be who you are.
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I like being in the workforce; it keeps me grounded.
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I lie around the floor with my cats Billy and Jazz or watch DVDs with my best friends.
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I don't like people looking at me; I hate the attention.
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I don't have a lot of regrets in my life.
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I don't agree with everything Madonna's done but she is fearless.
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I definitely do things on my terms, it may not seem that way but I actually do.
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Between 1991 and 1997 I had really serious asthma.
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Australians are a fantastic bunch of people but the attention can be overwhelming for someone like me.
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I have a friend who, if she has a bad hair day, it affects her whole mood because it is part of her sexuality, her confidence. I don't have that problem any more.
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Money makes life easier but I don't want to be rich, not at all.
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I have time to breathe, time to be myself more often, I am a lot more relaxed and less guarded.
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You got to try and reach for the stars or try and achieve the unreachable.
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I'm so lucky. I have such a great support system. All I have to do is run.
29
I think the greatest amount of pressure is the pressure I place on myself. So in a way I chose to be alone.
30
When I'm in a bad mood, I don't listen.
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Fact
1
Winner of the 1998 Australian of the Year award.
2
2000 Olympics: 400 m gold
3
Is Aborigine
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery
2017
TV Series documentary
Herself
Sporting Nation
2012
TV Series documentary
Herself
The Trophy Room
2011
TV Series
Herself
Australia Unites: The Victorian Bushfire Appeal
2009
TV Movie
Herself
Who Do You Think You Are?
2008
TV Series documentary
Herself
Go for Broke
2007
Documentary short
Herself
Getaway
2007
TV Series
Herself
Friday Night Football
2006
TV Series
Herself
Fair Dinkum Manjit
2006
Documentary short
Herself
We Can Be Heroes
2005
TV Series
Herself
Rock 'n' Royal
2004
TV Special documentary
Herself (greetings from Australia) (as Catherine Freeman)
Sydney 2000 Olympics: Bud Greenspan's Gold from Down Under
2001
TV Movie
Herself
Sydney 2000: Games of the XXVII Olympiad
2000
TV Mini-Series
Herself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Salute
2008
Documentary
Herself
20 to 1
2005-2008
TV Series documentary
Herself
Good as Gold!
2006
TV Series documentary
Herself
Welcome to Australia
1999
TV Movie documentary
Herself (uncredited)
Known for movies
Fair Dinkum Manjit (2006) as Herself
Rock 'n' Royal (2004) as Herself (greetings from Australia)
Sydney 2000: Games of the XXVII Olympiad (2000) as Herself
Australia Unites: The Victorian Bushfire Appeal (2009) as Herself
$4 Million
