Accor Stadium to name stand after Olympic champion Cathy Freeman

Exactly 23 years after Freeman lit the Olympic flame to mark the start of the Sydney 2000 games, Accor Stadium’s eastern grandstand will be renamed the Cathy Freeman Stand.

The stadium where Cathy Freeman created Australian history now has a stand named after the Olympic legend, in a historic first for NSW.

Twenty three years to the day after Freeman lit the Olympic flame to mark the start of the Sydney 2000 games, Accor Stadium’s eastern grandstand will be renamed the “Cathy Freeman Stand”.

The announcement, to be made by Premier Chris Minns on Friday, comes after a public nomination process to decide which female athlete would get the honour.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Freeman was the overwhelming favourite among the public who nominated athletes.

The Cathy Freeman Stand is the first stadium grandstand in NSW to be named after a female athlete.

Olympic champion Cathy Freeman has had the main grandstand at Accor Stadium named in her honour. Picture: David Caird

The stand — Accor’s main seating area — houses the athletes’ tunnel from which Ms Freeman emerged in her iconic body suit to claim the 400m gold medal in 2000.

That historic run, in front of a home crowd of 112,524 spectators saw her become the first Aboriginal person to win an individual Olympic gold medal.

Freeman winning the women’s 400m final at the 2000 Olympic Games.

It’s been 23 years since Freeman ignited the Olympic flame at Sydney.

Ms Freeman said she was “deeply honoured and humbled by this recognition”.

“This stadium and Sydney Olympic Park hold a truly special place in my heart and that will never change.

“I hope that my story continues to inspire generations of girls and boys to chase their own dreams in sport and life,” she said.

Accor Stadium has been home to Australia’s two most-watched television events in history: first, Ms Freeman’s gold-medal run in 2000, which was topped last month by the Matilda’s semi-final match against England.

Last month the Minns government commissioned a giant mural for Accor stadium to celebrate the Matilda’s win.

“Like the rest of Australia, I cheered on the Matildas during the FIFA Women’s World Cup and I can’t wait to see future generations of Australian female athletes make their mark,” Ms Freeman said.

The announcement delivers on an election pledge to name a stand at the Sydney Olympic Park stadium after a female sporting legend.

“It’s about time we name a sports stand in NSW after a woman and I can’t think of a better athlete then Cathy Freeman,” Mr Minns said.

“I want the next generation of young girls to watch sport at this stadium, looking up at the Cathy Freeman Stand thinking about their own sporting dreams.”