Cathy Freeman

Cathy Freeman, OAM (born 16 February 1973) is a retired Australian sprinter. She ran mostly in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics.^[1] She lit the Olympic Flame at the beginning of the 2000 games.^[2] She has won several medals at the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, and the IAAF World Championships. She retired from athletics in 2003.

Cathy Freeman

Medal record
Women’s Athletics
Representing  United States
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

Freeman was born in Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland. She is Aboriginal.^[1] Her mother was born in the Manbarra community on Palm Island. Freeman was raised as a Bahá'í.^[3][4][5]

In 1998, she was awarded Australian of the Year. In 2001, she was given both the World Sportswoman of the Year and the Medal of the Order of Australia.