Cathy Freeman The future is golden

Her Sydney Olympic triumph won the nation's heart and propelled her to fame and glory. Now, 25 years on, Cathy Freeman talks motherhood, mentoring and mindfulness.

- SOPHIE TEDMANSON

A kookaburra is sitting in the eaves of the grandstand of a picturesque athletics stadium surrounded by bushland on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. She is beautiful, and unusually large, keeping a protective eye over her territory below, which today includes Australian Olympian Cathy Freeman.

“Give us a laugh, buddy,” Cathy looks up at the giant tree kingfisher, her trademark grin bursting into a giggle. Her giggle is infectious, as is her joie de vivre.

Cathy is at this training ground for a photo shoot to celebrate 25 years since her iconic gold medal win at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. She trained on this very track in the lead-up to those Games, so being here again brings back positive memories.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a quarter of a century since that unforgettable night on September 25, 2000, when Cathy won the women’s 400-metre athletics final in front of 112,524 spectators at the Sydney Olympic Stadium. An estimated 8.8 million people were watching at home in Australia - in what was then the largest TV audience for a sporting event in Australian history - plus many more millions around the globe.

It was a race that stopped, not only the nation, but the world, and a win that symbolised more than Olympic gold. The vision of Cathy - a proud Kuku Yalanji woman from Mackay in North Queensland - running her victory lap barefoot, waving both the Australian and Aboriginal flags, forever cemented her as an Australian cultural icon and united our country where, only four months earlier, 250,000 people had walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of reconciliation.

"It made our family very, very proud and happy that she did something for our people," Cathy's mum, Cecelia, says of the impact the gold medal win had on her family, and also the wider community. "And I feel that most Australian Aboriginal community members felt the same way."