The defining moment of Cathy Freeman’s life took 49.11 seconds
It’s been 25 years since Australians held their collective breath and – wherever they were in the world that day – watched Cathy Freeman make history by winning gold at the Sydney Olympics
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Cathy Freeman still feels like she is riding the wave 25 years on.
It was the Sydney Olympic Games and the biggest moment of her life: that race, the stillness, those 49.11 seconds and then the deafening noise.
It’s not just those 112,524 spectators at the Olympic Stadium who remember exactly where they were when they watched Freeman’s 400m gold medal victory.
As the star of the show said, “It’s taken on a life of its own”.
Freeman was the final torchbearer at the Opening Ceremony, following six legendary Australian female athletes: Betty Cuthbert*, Raelene Boyle*, Dawn Fraser*, Shirley Strickland*, Shane Gould* and Debbie Flintoff-King*. Freeman had the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron, which famously malfunctioned*.
“It’s public knowledge now that it broke down for four minutes,” she said, about the technical fault which stranded the cauldron as it ascended* a mechanical waterfall.
“Looking back it was tricky to navigate through; in the moment I was trying to protect myself and maintain that focus.”
She understood at the time the significance of the ceremony, what it meant in particular for women and Australia’s Indigenous peoples, and still feels humbled by the enormity of it.
“While I was surprised and really humbled, I was incredibly privileged and very honoured to be the one to do it,” she said.
Then there was the race. The 49.11 seconds that changed her life forever.
Freeman went into what she describes as a “trance” when she came out of the tunnel underneath the stadium and onto the track. Her appearance set off a tidal wave of noise with the crowd screaming for their hometown girl – but she didn’t hear a thing.
“I kind of felt in control,” she said. “I didn’t hear anybody before the start of the race, I was just in this different headspace. It was all about keeping it simple, keeping it basic, so relaxed but poised and ready.”
The noise came once she crossed the line and immediately sat down on the track, taking off her spikes as the world around her went crazy.
Freeman returned to the track and won a gold medal for Australia in the 4 x 400m relay at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games but her heart wasn’t in it and by July the next year she had retired at the age of 30.
“For what I experienced on the track and being a part of the Opening Ceremony, that was completely mind-blowing, mind-boggling, mind-bending even,” she said.
“It all happened the way it was supposed to; it was time for a break. I had been racing and competing since I was five and the expectation on me was always there.
“I got my one childhood dream and that was completely satisfying, that’s it.”
One of her greatest achievements has been motherhood to 14-year-old Ruby, her daughter with former husband James Murch.
“It makes life wonderful,” she says of her daughter, who likes sports and runs on the track for her school.
With the Brisbane Olympic Games coming in 2032, Freeman recalled the moment she found out that Sydney had won its bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games.
“I remember it was seven years beforehand when it was announced and being really excited,” Freeman said. “I can sort of safely speak on behalf of all Olympians who were aiming for the Sydney Games: we all just became 10-feet tall.
“We all became superhuman for knowing that we had the chance to compete on home soil. So all these Australian athletes aspiring* for Brisbane, it’s a huge opportunity and a life-defining moment for these young men and women.”
Being Queensland born and bred in Mackay, Freeman wasn’t sure what role she would be playing but she said she knows “emotionally I will get caught up in it”.
“I’m Queensland born, I’ve seen the transformative powers and the uniting powers of the Olympics and I think Australia will do it really well again,” she said.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- Betty Cuthbert: inducted onto the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985, Betty Cuthbert AC MBE (1938-2017) was known as a “Golden Girl” of Australian track of field, winning four Olympic gold medals
- Raelene Boyle: born in 1951, Boyle remains one of our greatest female sprinters, selecting in every Australian Olympic and Commonwealth Games team between 1968 and 1982 and won a total of 12 medals
- Dawn Fraser: born in 1937, legendary swimmer Dawn Fraser AC MBE is an eight-time Olympic medallist who dominated the 100m freestyle at her peak and became the first female to be named a Legend of Australian Sport in 1993 for her contribution to the sport
- Shirley Strickland: for 20 years between 1956-1976, Strickland (1925-2004) was the only female athlete to have won seven Olympic track and field medals and was elevated to Legend in 1995
- Shane Gould: the 15-year-old star of the 1972 Olympics, Gould won five medals; it was her only Olympic Games and set 11 world records before retiring from the sport at the age of 16
- Debbie Flintoff-King: born in 1960, Flintoff-King won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games in the 400m hurdles
- malfunctioned: broke down
- ascended: moved up, climbed, rose upward
- aspiring: striving or desiring to become successful and achieve a particular goal
EXTRA READING
Ditch your feed, find your ‘flow’
Moments that made sporting history
Australia’s most influential Indigenous sports stars
QUICK QUIZ
1. What was Cathy Freeman’s gold medal-winning time at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000?
2. Who were at least three of the other Australian female torchbearers at the Opening Ceremony?
3. By which month of what year had Freeman retired?
4. At which games and in what race did Freeman win another gold after Sydney 2000?
5. How many spectators were at the Olympic Stadium to watch Freeman’s history-making race live?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. 2032 Olympics
How old will you be when the 2032 Olympics roll around?
Do you have any aspirations to be involved as a competitor, volunteer or spectator?
How would you like to be involved in such a huge event for Australia and make memories to last a lifetime?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
How do competitors such as Cathy get in such a state of mind to block the outside world out when there were 112,000 people cheering her on? What do you do to remain calm in high pressure situations?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Walking in their shoes
The athletes who make it to an Olympic Games train tirelessly to represent Australia. Imagine how they must feel as their dreams of competing in the Olympics come true. It’s time to walk in their shoes and imagine what they would be thinking and feeling. Write a descriptive piece about your experiences. You may like to include: training in your chosen sport; being selected for the Olympic team; travelling to an exciting destination; life in the Olympic Village and the moments before, during and after your event.