Cathy Freeman

Personal information

Full name

Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman

Nationality

Australian

Born

16 February 1973 (age 44)
Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland

Education

Kooralbyn International school, Fairholme College, University of Melbourne

Occupation

runner

Height

164 cm (5 ft 5 in)

Weight

56 kg (8 st 11 lb)

Spouse(s)

Sandy Bodecker (1999-2003), James Murch (2009-present)

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
	2000 Sydney	400 m
	1996 Atlanta	400 m
World Championships
	1997 Athens	400 m
	1999 Seville	400 m
	1995 Gothenburg	4 × 400 m relay
Commonwealth Games
	1990 Auckland	4 × 100 m
	1994 Victoria	200 m
	1994 Victoria	400 m
	2002 Manchester	4 × 400 m
	1994 Victoria	4 × 100 m

Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM (born 16 February 1973) is an Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She would occasionally compete in other track events, but 400m was her main 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 Australian Indigenous person to become a Commonwealth Games gold medallist 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, in the 400 m event. In 1998 Freeman took a break from running due to injury. She returned from injury in form with a first place in the 400 m at the 1999 World Championships. She announced her retirement from athletics in 2003.

In 2007, she founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation.

Cathy Freeman began athletics at the age of 2. Her first coach was her stepfather, Bruce Barber. By her early teens she had a collection of regional and national titles, having competed in the 100 m, 200 m, high jump and long jump.

In 1987, Freeman moved on to Kooralbyn International School to be coached professionally by Romanian Mike Danila, who became her first coach and later a key influence throughout her career; he provided a strict training regime for the young athlete.

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