Cathy Freeman, a proud Kuku Yalanji woman, is celebrated as an Australian Indigenous Olympic champion. She discovered her love for racing at the age of five and won her first gold medal at the School Athletics Championships at just eight years old.
Her illustrious career began with a gold medal in the 4x100m relay at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, marking her as the first female Australian Aboriginal to achieve such a feat in international athletics. Named Young Australian of the Year in 1991, Cathy made history again by representing Australia at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 as the first Australian Aboriginal Olympian. Two years later, she claimed double gold in the 200m and 400m events at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.
At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Cathy set a personal best of 48.63s to win silver in the 400m. She continued her dominance by becoming World Champion in the same event at the World Athletic Championships in 1997 and 1999. However, her crowning achievement came at the 2000 Sydney Olympics when she lit the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony and went on to win the gold medal in the 400m, fulfilling a lifelong dream and capturing global attention.
From 2007 to 2021, Cathy co-founded and directed the Cathy Freeman Foundation, dedicated to empowering Indigenous children through education. The foundation's vision is clear: to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children achieve the best educational outcomes and opportunities in life.
