Cathy Freeman became both an Olympic champion and a symbol of reconciliation, Women's History Month

This is Cathy Freeman. Cathy was born in 1973, in the Queensland city of Mackay. Her mother was of the Kuku Yalanji people of far north Queensland, and her father was from the Burri Gubba people of central Queensland.
When Cathy was eight years old, she won her very first running race, and by the time she was 10, she knew exactly what she wanted to be - an Olympic champion. Cathy made a poster and hung it on her wall. It said, "I am the greatest athlete in the world", and from that moment onwards, Cathy was determined to make her dream come true.
She practiced and practiced, becoming faster and faster. And by 16, she was picked to run in a relay team for the 1990 Commonwealth Games, and just like that, Cathy's life changed forever. Her team won gold, making Cathy the first Indigenous Commonwealth gold medallist. And in 1992, she made it all the way to the Olympics. She didn't win a medal that time, but it didn't stop her, not in the slightest. In 1996, she was back, this time in Atlanta. She was fast, running neck and neck with France's famous Marie-Jose Perec. She was so close to being an Olympic champion, but, in the end, Cathy took silver. By the time the 2000 Olympics came around, she was more determined than ever. This was the year the Olympics were in Australia, and Cathy was the face of the Sydney games. At the opening ceremony she was front and centre. And when it came to her race, the world's eyes were on her.
Wearing a futuristic bodysuit, Cathy became a real-life superhero. To fight off nerves, she took deep breaths. And just like that, she took off, speeding past her competitors in her home country. In front of 10's of millions of eyes, watching her from around the world. Cathy Freeman blitzed everyone in the 400-metre race, becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to win an individual Olympic gold medal. On her victory lap, Cathy held up the Aboriginal flag alongside the Australian flag, an act that was against the rules, but was a huge moment for Indigenous people in Australia.
Cathy was now an Olympic champion, but to many, she was so much more than that. She was a symbol of reconciliation. After that race, Cathy continued to hold the torch, shining a light on First Nations cultures, and in 2007, she created the Cathy Freeman Foundation, to support young people in remote communities. Over her career, Cathy won many awards, including Young Australian of the year and Australian of the year. She proved that it is worth having big dreams, because with hard work and perseverance, they may just come true.
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