Cathy Freeman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cathy Freeman
OAM

Freeman in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman
Born	(1973-02-16) 16 February 1973 (age 52) Mackay, Queensland, Australia
Education	Kooralbyn International school Fairholme College
Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Occupation	Australian sprinter/runner
Height	164 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	56 kg (8 st 11 lb; 123 lb)
Spouse(s)	Sandy Bodecker ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2003)​ James Murch ​ ​ (m. 2009; sep 2024)​
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Sprint
University team	University of Melbourne
Coached by	Step-father Bruce Barber, Mike Danila, 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 Auckland 4 × 100 m Gold 1994 Victoria 200 m Gold 1994 Victoria 400 m Gold 2002 Manchester 4 × 400 m Silver 1994 Victoria 4 × 100 m

Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman OAM, born on February 16, 1973, is a famous Australian former sprinter. She was best known for her amazing speed in the 400 metres race. Cathy is a proud Indigenous Australian and made history as a top athlete. She won many important medals, including an Olympic gold.

Cathy Freeman was the first female Indigenous Australian to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal. She achieved this at just 16 years old in 1990. The year 1994 was a big turning point in her career. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, she won gold medals in both the 200 metres and 400 metres events. She also earned a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics and won the World Championships in the 400 metres. After taking a break in 1998 due to an injury, she returned strong. She won the 400 metres at the 1999 World Championships. Cathy retired from athletics in 2003.

In 2007, she started the Cathy Freeman Foundation. This organization helps Indigenous communities. Cathy is from the Kuku-yalanji and Birri-gubba Indigenous peoples.

Cathy Freeman's Athletic Journey

Early Life and Training

Cathy Freeman showed great talent in school sports. After 1987, her stepfather, Bruce Barber, coached her. She won many local and national titles.

In 1987, Cathy moved to Kooralbyn International School. There, she received professional coaching from Mike Danila. He was a big influence on her career. He gave her a strict training plan. In 1988, she earned a scholarship to Fairholme College. This was an exclusive girls' school in Toowoomba. In 1989, Cathy ran the 100 metres in 11.67 seconds. This made her coach think about entering her in the Commonwealth Games Trials.

Rising Star (1990-1995)

First Gold Medal

In 1990, Cathy was chosen for Australia's 4 × 100 metres relay team. They competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. The team won the gold medal. This made Cathy the first Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medallist. She was also one of the youngest at 16 years old.

After the Auckland Games, she moved to Melbourne. Her manager, Nic Bideau, introduced her to coach Peter Fortune. Fortune became her coach for the rest of her career. She then represented Australia at the 1990 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Bulgaria. She reached the semi-finals in the 100 metres and finished fifth in the 200 metres final.

International Competitions

Cathy competed in her second World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea. She won a silver medal in the 200 metres. In 1992, she also went to her first Olympic Games in Barcelona. She competed in the 400 metres and was part of the Australian 4 × 400 metres relay team. At the 1993 World Championships in Athletics, she reached the semi-finals of the 200 metres.

Breakthrough Year

1994 was a huge year for Cathy. She became one of the world's top athletes. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, she won gold in both the 200 metres and 400 metres. She also won a silver medal with Australia's 4 × 100 metres relay team. Her 4 × 400 metres team finished first but was later disqualified due to a rule violation. In 1994, Cathy improved her 400 metres personal best by 1.3 seconds. She also set personal bests in the 100 metres (11.24 seconds) and 200 metres (22.25 seconds).

At the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Sweden, Cathy was expected to win a medal. However, she finished fourth in the 400 metres. She also reached the semi-finals of the 200 metres.

Olympic Glory and World Titles (1996-2003)

Challenging for Gold

Cathy continued to improve in 1996. She set many personal bests and Australian records. She became the main challenger to France's Marie-José Pérec at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Cathy won the silver medal, setting an Australian record of 48.63 seconds. This was the fourth-fastest time ever at that point. Pérec's winning time of 48.25 seconds was an Olympic record.

World Champion

In 1997, Cathy won the 400 metres at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics in Athens. Her time was 49.77 seconds. Her only loss in the 400 metres that season was in Oslo, where she injured her foot. Cathy took a break from running in 1998 due to her injury. When she returned in 1999, she won every 400 metres race she entered. This included another win at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics.

Lighting the Olympic Flame

Cathy also had the great honour of lighting the Olympic Flame at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

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

Sydney Olympics Triumph

She continued her winning streak into the 2000 season. Cathy was the home favourite for the 400 metres title at the Sydney Olympics. She was expected to race against her rival Pérec. However, Pérec left the Games unexpectedly. Cathy won the Olympic gold medal with a time of 49.11 seconds. She became only the second Indigenous Australian Olympic champion. After her win, Cathy took a victory lap. She proudly carried both the Aboriginal and Australian flags, showing her pride in her heritage and country. She also reached the final of the 200 metres, finishing sixth.

To celebrate her gold medal, Cathy helped carry the Olympic flag at the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She joined other important people from around the world. Throughout her career, Cathy often competed in the Victorian Athletic League. She won two 400 metres races at the Stawell Gift Carnival.

Retirement from Running

Cathy did not compete in 2001. In 2002, she returned to run with Australia's winning 4 × 400 metres relay team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Cathy Freeman announced her retirement from athletics in 2003.

Life After Running

Helping Communities

Since retiring from running, Cathy has been involved in many community and charity activities. She was an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) until 2012. Cathy also became an Ambassador for Cottage by the Sea. This is a children's holiday camp in Victoria. She stepped down from this role in 2014 after 10 years.

Cathy Freeman Foundation

In 2007, Cathy founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation. This foundation works with four remote Indigenous communities. It aims to help improve education for Indigenous Australian children. The foundation offers incentives to encourage children to attend school. It works with the AIEF and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.

About Cathy Freeman

Family and Background

Cathy Freeman was born in 1973 in Mackay, Queensland. Her parents were Norman Freeman and Cecelia Barber. Norman was from the Birri Gubba people. Cecelia was from Kuku Yalanji heritage. Cathy also has Syrian ancestry. She grew up in Queensland with her brothers Gavin, Garth, and Norman. She had an older sister, Anne-Marie, who was born in 1966 and passed away in 1990. Anne-Marie had cerebral palsy.

Cathy went to several schools. She was mostly educated at Fairholme College in Toowoomba. She attended there after winning a scholarship. Her parents divorced in 1978.

Personal Beliefs and Relationships

Cathy has spoken about how early experiences with racism influenced her. She has also been influenced by the Baháʼí Faith. She was raised a Catholic and values the idea of equality for all people.

Cathy had a long-term relationship with her manager, Nick Bideau, which later ended. In 1999, she married Alexander "Sandy" Bodecker. After her Olympic success, she took a break from running to support her husband through a serious illness. They separated in 2003. Later that year, Cathy started dating Australian actor Joel Edgerton. Their relationship ended in 2005.

In 2006, Cathy announced her engagement to James Murch. They married in 2009. Cathy gave birth to her first child in 2011. In August 2024, Cathy and James announced their separation.

Interests and Advocacy

Cathy is a big fan of sports teams. She supports the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in rugby league and the Carlton Blues in Australian rules football. She also supported the return of the South Sydney Rabbitohs to the National Rugby League. In 2023, Cathy was one of many Australians who supported the "Yes" vote in the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. This referendum was about giving Indigenous people a greater say in government decisions.

Cathy in the Media

Documentaries and Discoveries

In 2006, Cathy joined actress Deborah Mailman for a TV documentary series called Going Bush. They went on a road trip from Broome to Arnhem Land. They spent time with Indigenous communities along the way.

In 2008, Cathy appeared on the TV show Who Do You Think You Are?. She learned that her mother had Chinese and English heritage, as well as Aboriginal. She also discovered that her great-grandfather, Frank Fisher, served in World War I. This was possible because of a 1917 policy that allowed Aboriginal people with a European parent to serve in the military.

Cathy has a tattoo on her right arm that says "Cos I'm free".

Achievements and Awards

Race Results

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Result	Notes
Representing  Australia
1990	Commonwealth Games	Auckland, New Zealand	1st	4 × 100 m relay	43.87
	World Junior Championships	Plovdiv, Bulgaria	15th (sf)	100 m	11.87 (wind: -1.3 m/s)
			5th	200 m	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	200 m	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 Wins

Circuit Races

Special Honours

• Australian of the Year 1998
• Australian Sports Medal 2000
• Centenary Medal 2001
• Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2001
• In 2001, Freeman received the Olympic Order from Juan Antonio Samaranch
• Laureus named Freeman Sportswoman of the Year in 2001
• Arthur Ashe Courage Award 2001
• Victorian Honour Roll of Women 2001
• Deadly Awards 2003 – Female Sportsperson of the Year
• Sport Australia Hall of Fame induction in 2005
• Queensland Sport Hall of Fame induction in 2009
• In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Freeman was named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for her role as a "sports legend".
• In 2025, she was an inaugural inductee of the Stadium Australia Hall of Fame.

See also

In Spanish: Cathy Freeman para niños