Cathy Freeman's Story

"I'm just a little black girl who can run fast....."

From humble aboriginal beginnings in small-town Australia to winning the 400 m gold medal in front of her family at the Sydney Olympics, Cathy Freeman is a real inspiration.

While in grade school, Cathy started running track and won races from the very start. She also figured out (as kids do!) that winning races made adults happy and got her out of school classes. So when asked by a councilor what she wanted to do when she ‘grew up’ Cathy said she wanted to win an Olympic gold medal.

Now, many young athletes will say the same thing, but of course, not many achieve their stated goal. Some don’t have the talent, some lose their determination, and some follow other paths. But Cathy didn’t. She had the talent, she had the courage and she had the determination to make it happen – and she did, against many odds.

To start, funding was a perpetual battle. Cathy had to travel great distances (with the associated costs), just to compete as a teen. Getting coaching for any kid was difficult, and meant moving to the ‘big city’. Being aboriginal was a bit more of a challenge. But she rose to the challenge, moved to the city, changed schools, got some better coaching. And thrived on running and her Olympic dream.

An exchange trip to the USA in 1988 and subsequently meeting both Carl Lewis and Florence Griffith-Joyner was a catalyst for Cathy. On her return to Australia and after just 6 months of good coaching, Cathy won a Commonwealth Games gold medal as part of Australia’s 4 x 100 m team. She was on her way to stardom….

In the background, but providing great moral support to their daughter/sister/cousin was Cathy’s incredibly strong mother, supportive step-father, a whole clan of Freeman’s and a sister who eventually passed away from cerebral palsy (CP). It was the passing of Cathy’s sister Anne-Marie, who couldn’t walk or speak due to CP, that fueled part of her running. Cathy’s wins were often attributed to Anne-Marie.

Cathy broke through many barriers during her track career. Not just in her running times on the track, but in her overall achievements. In 1990, Cathy won the Young Australian of the Year award – not an award generally provided to an aboriginal women. In 1992, at age 19, Cathy was the first Australian aboriginal to compete at an Olympic Games (in Barcelona). In 1994, you may remember when Cathy caused an international kerfuffle. She hoisted both the Aboriginal flag and the Australian flag above her head after winning the 400 m Commonwealth Games gold medal in Victoria, BC Canada. And in 1996, she was back at the Olympics, just missing a gold medal to her long-time French rival Marie-Jose Perec – a legend in her own right.

The speed of Cathy’s ascent through the pressure-cooker world of international track and field was nothing short of phenomenal. Her confidence that she could win was one of her greatest strengths, as well as her dedication and determination in reaching her goals. But this all came at a cost, as Cathy’s life off the track was not always easy.

Along the way, Cathy met and almost-married her first sweetheart, who not only coached her, but organized her business dealings as well. This arrangement worked well from their meeting in 1989 through the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996 but subsequently broke down. Through the late 1990’s Cathy met and married an American business-man who was involved with Nike, but this relationship eventually ended as well, after her husbands bout with cancer, travel throughout Europe and living back and forth between Australia and the USA.

In 1998, Cathy Freeman broke another barrier. An aboriginal was the world’s fastest 400 m female runner. This foreshadowed what was to come, for in 1999, Cathy Freeman won the 400 m World Championships for a second time and had an Olympic medal in her sights. After putting in all the hard yards and battling through turmoil in her personal and professional relationships, 2000 was Cathy’s year to shine.

In 2000, Cathy became ‘Australia’s’ Cathy Freeman. She carried the flag for Australia’s Olympic Team, lit the Olympic cauldron and, yes, won the gold medal that she had said she would as a teenager, all those years ago. Cathy’s win in her special Nike track suit in front of her family and home crowd in Sydney, Australia, was nothing short of spectacular. For just a moment, Cathy brought Australia, as a country, together. And her win illustrated that the colour of one’s skin or racial background is irrelevant on the world’s stage. Quite an achievement for ‘a little black girl who can run fast…’ And what aninspiration to the rest of us.

You really can achieve your dream, if you dare to dream it and have the courage to pursue it.