Catherine 'Cathy' Freeman OAM (b. 1973), athlete, was born in Mackay, Queensland. At the age of sixteen she became the first Aboriginal runner to win a Commonwealth gold medal. She won two more in 1994, and as the first Aboriginal track and field athlete to represent Australia at the Olympic Games, she won a silver medal in the 400m in Atlanta in 1996. She was ranked first in the world in her signature event, the 400m, in which she won back-to-back World Championships in 1997 and 1999 and the Olympic gold medal in 2000. She was the first person to be named both Young Australian of the Year (1990) and Australian of the Year (1998). Freeman retired from running in July 2003, still enjoying the immense popularity she earned during her exceptional career. The Catherine Freeman Foundation was established in 2007 with the aim of enhancing opportunities for individuals living in disadvantaged communities.
This photograph was taken at the NSW Academy of Sport in December 1994, by the Canadian-born advertising and fashion photographers, Denis Montalbetti and Gay Campbell.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999
© Montalbetti & Campbell
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