FIRE Carriers

Cathy Freeman

Cathy Freeman is one of Australia’s most famous athletes.  She loved running the 400m track event and she was the first Australian Indigenous person to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal, in 1990, when she was 16 years old, in the 4x100m relay.  In 1994, she competed in the 400m event and won Gold at the Commonwealth Games. After her win, she held the Aboriginal flag and the Australian team officials were not happy but the Australian public understood that she was proud to be an Indigenous Australian. 

In 2000, she was the favourite to win the 400m at the Sydney Olympics.  She also lit the flame in the Opening Ceremony, which she was very proud to do. In the 400m final, she wore a full body suit and she won gold, becoming the second Australian Aboriginal Olympic Champion (Nova Peris-Kneebone was the first who won gold in 1996 in the Women’s Hockey team).  She inspired Australia and many children to achieve their best in sport. 

She founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation in 2007 which helps support education at schools, in helps four remote Indigenous communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

References:

Wikipedia – Cathy Freeman. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_Freeman

Website; The Cathy Freeman Foundation https://www.cathyfreemanfoundation.org.au/

Website; Cathy Freeman https://www.athletics.com.au/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-history-in-athletics/cathy-freeman/

By Connor W