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Cathy Freeman Cathy Freeman i(A59722 works by) (birth name: Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman) (a.k.a. Catherine Freeman)
Born: Established: 1973 Slade Point, Mackay, Mackay - Sarina area, Marlborough - Mackay - Townsville area, Queensland, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Kuku-Yalanji ; Aboriginal Birri-Gubba Juru
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BiographyHistory

Cathy Freeman is an Australian sprinter who specialises in the 400-metre race. She won her first gold medal at a school athletics championship when she was eight years old. Like many Australian Aboriginal people, Freeman's family was poor and experienced racial discrimination. Her family worked hard to raise the money needed to take her to national competitions. The family moved to Brisbane in 1989 to be near Freeman, who had won a scholarship to Kooralbyn International School, where she was being professionally coached. After moving to Melbourne in 1990, she won a gold medal as a member of the 4 x 100-metre relay team at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, becoming the first Australian Aboriginal woman to win a gold medal at an international athletics event. In 1990, Freeman was named Aboriginal Athlete of the Year.

At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, held in Victoria, Canada, she made world headlines after winning the 400-metre race, because she flew the Aboriginal flag instead of the Australian flag during her victory lap. Although the Australian team leader barred her from flying the Aboriginal flag, Freeman defied him by flying the Aboriginal flag again after she won the 200-metre race. She used the publicity to explain the symbolism of the Aboriginal flag: red for the earth, the ochre used in ceremonies, and Aboriginal people's spiritual relationship to the land; yellow for the sun, the giver and protector of all life; and black for the Aboriginal people of Australia.

Freeman lit the cauldron at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Also in 2000, she was awarded an Australian Sports Medal, recognising her achievements as World Champion in 1997 and 1999, Commonwealth Champion in 1994, and winner of the Victorian Institute of Sport Award of Excellence in 1997. Freeman was named World Sportswoman of the Year in 2001. On 15 July 2003, she announced her retirement from competitive running. Her last official sporting engagement was in 2006, when she was one of the final runners in the Queen's Baton Relay, bringing the baton into the Melbourne Cricket Ground at the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Victoria.

Since retiring, Freeman has dedicated her time to the Cathy Freeman Foundation and the numerous other charities of which she is a patron.

Cathy was inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame in October 2011.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2007 co-winner Deadly Sounds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Entertainment and Community Awards With Luke Carroll for Going Bush
2001 recipient Victorian Honour Roll of Woman
2001 recipient Centenary Medal For outstanding service through sport

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Heartbeat of the Land Melbourne : Larrikin House , 2022 24683797 2022 single work picture book children's 'Cathy ran barefoot every day across the great ancient land, as her people had done for sixty thousand years before. And when she ran, she could hear the heartbeat of the land. Ba Boom Ba Boom Ba Boom...Then one day, Cathy hears a cry. She answers this cry and, with one small step at a time, the seeds of change are planted. Cathy Freeman has always been an inspiration to young people. Here, she does it again, through storytelling — just as her people have done, for sixty thousand years before...Listen, and you too, will hear the Heartbeat of the Land.'

 (Publication summary)

2024 longlisted The DANZ Children's Book Award Picture Books
2023 shortlisted The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature Karajia Award
y separately published work icon Born to Run Melbourne : Puffin , 2021 22129955 2021 single work picture book autobiography children's

'A gorgeous picture book that will inspire girls and boys everywhere to chase their dreams.

'As a little girl, Cathy Freeman had only had one dream - to win a gold medal at the Olympics. At twenty-seven years old, that dream came true. At the Sydney 2000 Games, she crossed the finish line, won a gold medal for Australia and became a national hero. How did she go from being a little girl who loved to run to an inspiration to people around the world?

'Accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Charmaine Ledden-Lewis, Cathy tells her story about where self belief, hard work and the power of a loving family can take you.' (Publication summary)

2022 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Five to 8 Years
2022 shortlisted Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards Indigenous Children
Last amended 26 Feb 2020 13:59:20
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