Cathy Freeman Essay

Good afternoon teacher and fellow classmates. I have selected the topic of Cathy Freeman and today I will show you how she has contributed vastly to Australian society since 1945. Forty-three years ago the remarkable Cathy Freeman ran her way into Australia’s heart as she earned Australia’s 100th Olympic gold medal and no athlete would wear the medal more appropriately. Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman is a former Australian sprinter specialising in the 4oo metre event. From the day she was born on February 16th 1973 she began building an outstanding legacy for herself.
What is significant about Cathy freeman and her sporting achievements?
Cathy freeman has won many awards and medals in her lifetime all being extremely valuable. With her top

That dream kept her focused on training and helped her be successful with that dream. Although the main reason she’s regarded as such an important role model in pop culture is because she’s indigenous. Everything she has done is incredible but doing it as an indigenous woman just makes it more outstanding to young Australians. Most children these days have grown up learning about equality, human rights and discrimination. To hear so much about the discrimination of the ‘blacks’ and then hear about Cathy Freeman only makes you see how unacceptable it is to discriminate. She is classified as such a major role model to many young Australians and most athletes. She is someone you would have as an idol and she is such a respected woman and she deserves to be. From an early age she realised not only she loved to run but she was very good at it. Although her family not having the money to support her dream got in the way affecting many opportunities. She never gave up and only continued to train and run her heart out. She began to get sponsors and scholarships and that’s when she really set off on her career. (SAXTON,

Especially given she lit the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony and then became the face of the games. This ceremony celebrated both a century of women’s participation and the heritage of indigenous Australians. Not only was she representing 20 million expectant Australians but she also carried the historical burden of more than 200 years in the making. She was then selected as the embodiment of Aboriginal Australia’s quest for reconciliation. Cathy’s performance that night would carry almost as much significance off the track as it did on it. She felt like she was representing her people and Australia. She later danced through a victory lap carrying Australian and Aboriginal flags. (Freeman,