9781422284292

GREATEST MOMENTS

Freeman’s Glory

At those 1996 Games in Atlanta, Australia’s Cathy Freeman won the silver medal in her specialty, the 400 m. Going into the next Olympics on her home soil in Sydney in 2000, Freeman was the favorite in the event as the reigning world champion. She carried the weight of a nation with her. Not only was Freeman the sole medal hope for the home nation in track and field, but she would also be the first Aboriginal person to win a medal as well. Freeman cruised through qualifying, and in the final of the 400 m she ran a 49.11-second time, the fastest in the world to that date, to win the gold easily. The medal was the 100th gold medal in the history of her country, and more than 100,000 were on hand in Sydney to witness it. She did a victory lap around the track carrying both the Australian and Aboriginal flags.

14

Made with FlippingBook HTML5