Cathy freeman when was she born

Freeman was born in Mackay in Always proud of her ancestry, Freeman hoped her success as an athlete would be an inspiration to all Aboriginal children. Family is important to Freeman. Her first coach was her stepfather, Bruce Barber. And after winning her gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, the image in her mind was of her older sister, Anne-Marie, who had been born with cerebral palsy. Anne-Marie had died from an asthma attack in , three days after year-old Freeman won her first gold medal at the Auckland Commonwealth Games.

As a child Freeman loved running. From her teenage years she dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal. By , when the Olympics came to Australia, she was 27 years old, and at the peak of her career. At all Olympics since a sacred flame has been kept alight for the duration of the Games. Since the Berlin Games in the flame has been lit at Olympia, site of the ancient Greek Olympic Games, and then carried in a relay to wherever the games were being held. In the torch was carried by 13, torchbearers.

After Olympic champion Herb Elliott carried the torch into the stadium, the last six torchbearers were famous Australian women Olympians. Cathy Freeman was the final torchbearer and had the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron. Dressed in a white fireproof bodysuit, Freeman carried the torch up several flights of stairs. Carefully treading on submerged steps, she walked into the centre of a pool of water.

The cauldron which was to hold the flame during the games rose up around her, appearing to have been lit by the torch she was carrying.

Cathy Freeman after she had just lit the Olympic flame, Sydney, When asked to light the Olympic cauldron, Freeman accepted the honour without hesitation. The metre race was her best event and the main focus of the Games.

She had won it at the Commonwealth Games in , and at the World Championships in and In , Carrying the weight of the nation on her shoulders, Cathy was awarded the honour of lighting flame at the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. Ten days later, in a packed stadium of over , people and wearing a now-legendary full-body suit she collected the ultimate prize. Taking the lead 75 metres from home Cathy Freeman held off her challengers to win Olympic gold by four metres in Get Involved.

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Cathy Freeman was born in Mackay Queensland on 16 February, Cathy became involved in athletics at a very young age. At fourteen, Cathy told her vocational officer that her only career goal was to win an Olympic medal. By then, she had already won national titles in high jump, and the , and metre sprints.