Quick Facts
Birthday: February 16, 1973
Nationality: Australian
Age: 47 Years, 47 Year Old Females
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Also Known As: Catherine Astrid Salome
Born in: Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland
Famous as: Sprinter
Athletes
Australian Women
Height: 5'5" (165 cm), 5'5" Females
Family:Spouse/Ex-: Sandy Bodecker
father: Norman Freeman
mother: Cecelia
siblings: Gavin Garth, Norman
More Facts
education: Kooralbyn International School, Fairholme College of Toowoomba
awards: 1998 - Australian of the Year
2000 - Australian Sports Medal
2001 - Centenary Medal
2001 - Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
2001 - Olympic Order from Juan Antonio Samaranch
2001 - Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
2001 - Laureus named Freeman Sportswoman
2003 - Deadly Awards – Female Sportsperson of the Year
Cathy Freeman is a former Australian sprinter and Olympic medallist. She won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics followed by gold at the 2000 summer Olympics. In the early part of her life, she went through issues like racial discrimination. At a very young age, she dreamt of leaving a mark as a female athlete. To fulfil her dream, she took the guidance of Romanian Coach Mike Danila. Her remarkable success at the Auckland Commonwealth Games in which she won a gold medal ensured the triumph of first female Australian Aboriginal to win gold medal at an international athletics event. She lit the Olympic Flame at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Apart from that, she is honoured with the titles like Australian of the year, the World Sportswoman of the year and so on. She announced her retirement from athletics in 2003. After her retirement, she is involved with her non-profit organization, the Catherine Freeman Foundation.
Image Credit
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/50th-birthday/sorry-before-the-games/story-fnlk0fie-1226967782969
Image Credit
http://lightfm.com.au/ken-and-lucy/what-makes-cathy-freeman-so-popular
Image Credit
http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/46276/freeman-karembeu-and-co-lead-all-star-cast-as-champions-for-peace
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Childhood & Early Life
Born to Norman Freeman and Cecilia in Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Cathy Freeman spent her childhood with her brothers Gavin, Garth and Norman. She had a sister namely Anne Marie.
Her parents got divorced in 1978. At the age of eight, she won her first gold medal at the school athletics championship. In 1988, she received a scholarship to Fairholme College in Toowoomba
Until 1989, her coach was her stepfather Bruce Barber. Later, she attended Kooralbyn International School to get professional training under Romanian Coach Mike Danila.
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Career
After bagging a gold medal in the 4X100 m relay at the Auckland Commonwealth Games, she shifted to Melbourne in 1990. With this win, she became the first female Australian Aboriginal to win a gold medal at an international athletics event.
At Melbourne, she was introduced to athletics coach Peter Fortune who coached her for the rest of her career.
She was selected to represent Australia at the 1990 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. She entered the semi-finals of the 100 m and was placed fifth in the final of the 400 m.
Next, she took part in her second World Junior Championships organized in Seoul, South Korea in 1992. There she participated in the 200 m event where she won the silver medal.
In 1992, she competed at her first Olympic Games where she reached the second round of 400 m.
At the 1993 World Championships in Athletics, she took part in the 200 m event and reached the semi-final.
The year 1994 was an important point in her sports career. This year marks her entrance into the world’s elite for the first time in her life. She participated at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada. For her outstanding performance in this competition, she bagged gold medals in the 200 m and 400 m. She also took part in Australia’s 4x 100 m squad for which she won the silver medal.
At the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Sweden, she achieved fourth position. Besides this, she also entered the semi-finals of the 200 m in that competition.
During the 1996 Olympics, she posed the biggest challenge to Marie-Jose Perec of France. Trailing behind Perec, she won the silver medal and created the Australian record of 48.63 seconds.
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In 1997, she successfully won the 400 m at the World Championships held in Athens. She finished the 400 m event within 49.77 seconds.
As a result of injuries, she took a break for the 1998 season and returned back to the track in 1999.
After her return in 1999, she achieved success in each 400 m which included the World Championships. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she competed with her rival Marie-Jose Perec of France and won the Gold medal by finishing the race in 49.13 seconds. She also reached the finals of the 200 m race and achieved sixth position.
After her return to the track in 2002, she competed as a member of Australia’s 4x400 m relay team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She took retirement from athletics in 2003.
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Personal Life & Legacy
She developed a long-term romantic relationship with her manager Nic Bideau. This relationship ended in a bitter legal quarrel between them due to her endorsement earnings.
She got married to Sandy Bodecker, a Nike executive, in 1999. They separated in the month of February in 2003.
She started dating Australian actor Joel Edgerton in 2003 but the relationship ended in 2005.
On 11 April 2009, she tied the nuptial knot for the second time with Melbourne stockbroker James Murch. Their child Ruby Anne Susie Murch was born in the month of July, 2011.
Trivia
Japan included the story of the life and achievements of this renowned Australian sprinter in an English book titled “Sunshine”. The interesting thing is that, her story serves the purpose of teaching relative pronouns to these students.
