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Pictured Cathy Freeman delivered a gold medal under the weight of huge expectation at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium AS AUSTRALIA’S FLAGBEARER AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES SYDNEY 2000, CATHY FREEMAN ETCHED HER NAME INTO HISTORY WITH GOLD IN THE WOMEN’S 400M, AND USED THOSE EXPERIENCES TO SET UP HER OWN FOUNDATION PROMOTING EDUCATION IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES MY OLYMPIC MEMORIES My most vivid memory of the Olympic Games was watching Australia’s Debbie Flintoff-King win a gold medal in the women’s 400m hurdles in Seoul in 1988. After that, I was forever inspired. I also remember being really excited about moving into the Olympic Village and sharing a “home away from home” with so many athletes from all over the world, when I made my Olympic debut in Barcelona in 1992. DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES AT THE GAMES The major distinction between the three Olympic Games I competed in [in 1992, 1996 and 2000] was that as an athlete, my confidence grew stronger with each Games, and with each new four-year ‘I NOW HAVE A PLATFORM TO DRIVE ISSUES I’M PASSIONATE ABOUT, SUCH AS INDIGENOUS ACHIEVEMENT’ CATHY FREEMAN cycle. Once the Olympic Games Sydney 2000 came around, my confidence was at an all-time high. My home victory was especially amazing, and it continues to be challenging to find words to express the emotions that I felt before, throughout, and even now, 17 years after Sydney. However, words that spring to mind to describe my experience are “intense”, “deeply profound” and “magnificent”. HOW THE GAMES CHANGED MY LIFE The Olympic Games enable human potential and power to be realised through either experience or storytelling, and the impact is life-changing and inspiring. Indeed, my life has changed in ways I could never have expected – for example, being referred to as an “icon”. However, the great advantage of being an Australian Olympic champion is that I now have a platform I can use to drive issues that I’m passionate about, such as indigenous achievement. LIFE AFTER SPORT I’ve always been intrigued by human potential and it’s that curiosity, along with my mother’s guidance, that moved me to co-found the Cathy Freeman Foundation (CFF) in 2007. CFF has a vision of an Australia where indigenous and non-indigenous children have the same education standards and opportunities in life, and provides indigenous students CATHY FREEMAN MY GAMES MY GAMES OLYMPIC REVIEW 73 MY GAMES