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Athletics
GOODBYE TO ALL THAT: Cathy Freeman, the world's most famous Aboriginal athlete whose triumph in the 400m race in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 marked one of the most emotionally charged moments of sporting achievement in modern times, has decided to retire because the competitive fire in her has died.
``I have lost that want, that desire, that passion, that drive,'' said Freeman explaining to Sydney Morning Herald her decision to retire. ``I don't care anymore.'' To many the 30-year-old's retirement cannot come as much of a surprise as nothing could surpass the night of September 25, 2000 when she shoved aside the disappointment of the voluntary absence of two-time 400m Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec and stormed to victory in her catsuit to take the title. Sinking to her knees in shock and with the cheers of 100,000 fans ringing in her ears it was something that could hardly be bettered as she went on to drape both the aboriginal flag and the Australian one around her. First and foremost an Aborigine and then Australian in the 1996 Olympics, she became the first Aborigine to win a medal when she took silver behind Perec. Her draping of both flags around her in Sydney was in stark contrast to the rebel at the 1994 Commonwealth Games who did a lap of honour wrapped in just the Aboriginal flag and got sharply rebuked by the Australian team chief. However, she never allowed her roots to be suppressed by running for Australia particularly as her grandmother had been one of the infamous `Stolen Generation'. Indeed at her press conference the day after her Olympic triumph the expectation was that she would announce her retirement and concentrate on lobbying for improved rights for Aborigines. Instead she said that although she was thinking of a political career later on she still wanted to run — and committed the traditional error of athletes who should have bowed out at the top. The following three years saw her take a year off after the Sydney high, suffer a thigh injury on her return and, just as she was due to prepare properly for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, her husband Sandy Bodecker was diagnosed with throat cancer. Freeman decided to drop out of training for the Commonwealth Games and care for the Nike executive but in fairytale fashion returned to help the Australian 4x400m relay team take gold in Manchester. However, having seen Bodecker safely through his illness she announced they were separating earlier this year after three-and-a-half years of marriage as she claimed their lives had gone in opposite directions. The passion that had gone out of her marriage has been mirrored by the passion draining from her for the event she graced for 13 years and which brought the world one of those sporting moments that transcended the mere event for its drama and its symbolism.
A heroine
Freeman has been hailed a heroine following her decision to retire. Prime Minister John Howard led a flood of tributes to Freeman, whose emotional gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics remains a source of national pride. Howard, who is in Japan, told reporters: ``Her victory in the 400 (metres) at the Sydney Olympics was one of the great sporting events of our generation. ``I think she's been a wonderful Australian, is a wonderful Australian. I don't think there could be any greater accolade for anybody.'' Federal Opposition leader Simon Crean said Freeman, who became a potent symbol of the struggle for reconciliation between black and white Australians, could have a future in politics if she wanted. ``I think that she is a person committed to reconciliation in this country and using her sport and her presence to advance that cause,'' Crean told reporters in Melbourne. ``Anyone who can do that has clearly got a future in politics if they choose to pursue it.'' John Coates, the Australian Olympic Committee president who helped select Freeman to light the cauldron at the Sydney Games, said the athlete was a role model for everyone. ``We acknowledge the great contribution that she's made to her sport, the Olympic movement in this country and, of course, the success of the Sydney Olympic Games,'' Coates said. ``She is truly a great Olympic champion and has always been a wonderful role model.'' Australian swimming great Dawn Fraser said Freeman deserved to be remembered as one of the country's finest athletes. ``You would compare her with the greats of athletics like the Betty Cuthberts and the Marjorie Jacksons and the Shirley Strickland,'' Fraser said. Former athlete Ron Clarke said Freeman had made the right decision to quit after losing her motivation. ``Once that diminishes, then your performance on the track never reaches its own heights. Once you're used to the same heights then it's impossible to put up with second best,'' Clarke said. AFP & Reuters.
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