Cathy Freeman – Her Own Story
Last modified: October 3, 2010
The following synopsis is from
www.bookworm.com.au
Cathy – Her Own Story
I’m just a little black girl who can run fast, and here I am sitting in the Olympic stadium, with one hundred and twelve thousand people screaming my name. How the hell did I get here?
Few of us will forget Cathy Freeman’s gold-winning run at the Sydney Olympic Games. With the expectations of a nation on her shoulders, her victory that night confirmed her as a national hero. But the win was more than just a sporting triumph. In that euphoric moment, Cathy Freeman symbolised our best and broadest vision of ourselves, a reconciled Australia. She became our Cathy.
For the first time, in her own words, Cathy Freeman tells the story of her remarkable life. With characteristic honesty she talks about growing up black in a white world, about her large, close-knit family, her complicated relationship with Nick Bideau, marriage to Sandy Bodecker and their painful separation. She talks about how it feels to represent your country, the price of fame, and the real reasons behind her heart-wrenching decision to retire.
Cathy tells us what it’s like to be Cathy Freeman. Her strength, courage, and magnetic personality are reflected on every page.
Talk about pressure, dubbed as the golden girl of her home Olympics in Sydney 2000, lighting the Olympic Flame and then having a nation watching you expecting you to be the 400m Gold Medalist.
It is no surprise that at times Cathy Freeman lost her way. We tend always look at our elite athletes as being perfect so it is interesting to read how months after the Olympics she was smoking and drinking.
Having to deal with deaths in the family, her husbands cancer and being a role model had a lot of pressure on Freeman that is the other side to the coin of what the public see. This shows just how human our athletes are.