Catherine Freeman's Life and Achievements

Catherine Freeman was born in Mackay in Queensland. She won her first gold medal at a school athletics championship when she was eight years old. Catherine Freeman's stepfather, Bruce Barber, coached her until 1989. Catherine Freeman's family did not have a lot of money and, like many Australian Aboriginals, suffered discrimination from white people. Catherine remembers winning one race at a primary school competition, when she had to watch on as the white girls she had beaten received trophies. It was when she was just a young girl that she began to dream about being the World’s greatest female athlete and being an Olympic Champion. A dream that kept her focused on her training and helped her to go on to achieve her dream.
When she was thirteen years of age, Freeman told her school guidance counsellor that her vocational plan was to win an Olympic Gold. She won gold at the Commonwealth Games as part of the 4x100m relay team at the age of sixteen. In 1990, she was awarded the title of Young Australian of the Year and the following year she was awarded Aboriginal Athlete of the Year, this begins the commencement of her national identity. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games,
Freeman who is extremely proud of her heritage took her victory lap with the Aboriginal flag before taking one with the Australian flag. This ignited much discussion and raised awareness regarding Aboriginal and race relations.
Now retired, Cathy has established the Catherine Freeman Foundation as a way of giving something back to the many Australians who supported her journey to become an Olympic champion, as she is now Australian icon people like to follow her career more closely and support her causes. The foundation aims to help young indigenous Australians to enjoy the same wellbeing, sense of self-belief and educational opportunities as their peers. Palm Island which is located on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, is the traditional country of the Manburra people. Manburra is an