Freeman lights up stadium second time around

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Sydney: Australia's Cathy Freeman, the athlete who lit the cauldron to open the Sydney Olympics, achieved an even greater honour on Monday when she won gold in the women's 400 metres.

With a capacity crowd of 112,000 roaring her on, the 27-year-old Freeman sprinted clear of Jamaica's Lorraine Graham in the home straight to win in 49.11 seconds, becoming the first Aboriginal to win an individual Olympic gold medal.

As the realisation of what she had achieved began to sink in, she sank to her knees then sat down to deafening applause.

"When I crossed the line, my Olympic dream came true," she said. "At first, it was relief, then I was totally overwhelmed.

"I could feel the crowd's emotion all over me. It was totally absorbed into every pore in my body."

Deeply proud of her Aboriginal heritage, Freeman wrapped herself in the Australian and Aboriginal flags as she set off on her lap of honour then, after receiving her medal, she threw her floral bouquet to her mother.

Once, six years ago at the Commonwealth Games, Freeman was condemned for celebrating a victory by carrying the Aboriginal flag but no longer.

"I'm sure what's happened tonight and what I symbolise will make a difference to people's attitudes. I know I've made a lot of people happy from all kinds of backgrounds that call Australia home," she said.

Freeman started as red-hot favourite after winning the last two world championships following a second place finish to Marie-Jose Perec of France at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She did not disappoint an entire country willing her to win.

Dressed in a bodysuit, which covered her head, Freeman trailed Graham through the first half of the race but always had plenty in reserve. She drew level with the Jamaican on the final bend then eased away in the straight to win by almost half a second with Britain's Katharine Merry third.

The significance of Freeman's win was not lost on her rivals. "I was part of a very special race tonight and I know that," Merry said. "I think we all felt the same way."

Unbeaten all season, Freeman's chances of winning got a late boost when Perec suddenly pulled out of the Games last week, citing media harassment.

This left Freeman as the woman to beat. She had qualified fastest for the final and the only real fear was just how she could cope with the enormous pressure and expectation of the Australian public and media almost demanding she win.

Australia had not won an Olympic gold medal in athletics since Debbie Flintoff-King in the 400 hurdles at Seoul in 1988 but everyone expected Freeman to break the drought here.

"I'm really pleased with the way I've weathered the pressure," Freeman said. "I've just tried to keep things simple. My life's very normal when I'm on my own."

Although she is a naturally shy woman, Freeman has never hesitated to speak out against any perceived injustices. She recently took the Australian government to task for their refusal to apologise for the "stolen generation" of Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families.

Her openness has won her many admirers but has also come at a high price.

Her once-simple life has become a soap opera. Almost everything she says or does ends in a public brawl. Although she loves Australia, she has had to spend most of the last two years overseas to escape the constant attention.

Any hopes that Freeman would have a quiet time in Sydney were extinguished the moment she received the torch from Flintoff-King and lit the flame. It was a hugely symbolic moment for all Australians but only added to the pressures on her to win.

On the morning of Monday's race, Freeman awoke to see her face plastered on the front page of every newspaper in the country, brashly predicting she would win.

But Freeman has always shown a remarkable ability to block out distractions and it wasn't until she sat down on the track that she allowed herself to think about what had happened.

"It was such an honour to light the cauldron...but the Olympic gold is more personal to me," Freeman said. "Running definitely comes more naturally to me...running's like breathing to me.

"Everyone was telling me I could win but I didn't believe it. Sport is such an arena for great drama. It's a reflection of life, anything can happen."



(c) Reuters Limited.