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1 gold
400m
(Sydney 2000)
1 silver
400m
(Atlanta 1996)
Above right
Cathy Freeman
lights the Olympic
cauldron at her
home Games
Above left
In action at the
Olympic Games
Atlanta 1996
Below left
With one of the
beneficiaries of
her Foundation
with each community through the
complexities of the work required to
create social change, delivering five
programmes designed to span a child’s
education from pre-school through to
the age of 17. The programmes focus
on improving school attendance,
behaviour and literacy, and are effective
in extending the children’s horizons and
future opportunities.
EDUCATION THROUGH
SPORT AND SCHOOL
I retired from my sport 14 years ago,
but I continue to have good intuition,
have good teachers and good people
around me, and I embody my personal
values with respect being my core value.
But in a similar way to sport,
the school environment presents a
tremendous opportunity to engage
young people in a truly profound,
meaningful and everlasting way. When
communities and their schools join
forces to support students to realise
their potential, then “the sky is not the
limit”, as I have heard one child say. ■
Born
16 February
1973 in Mackay,
Australia
Competed at three editions
of the Olympic Games
2
Olympic
medals in
athletics
with greater opportunities for realising
their own potential through mainstream
educational pathways.
It works with 1,600 indigenous
children and their families by
establishing long-term partnerships with
four remote indigenous communities,
including Palm Island in northern
Queensland since 2007; Wurrumiyanga
on Bathurst Island in the Northern
Territory since August 2014; Woorabinda
in central Queensland since October
2014; and Galiwin’ku in Arnhem Land,
Northern Territory since January 2015.
The Foundation takes a journey
FACT FILE
Lit the cauldron
at the Opening
Ceremony of
the Olympic
Games
Sydney 2000
74 OLYMPIC REVIEW
MY GAMES