University to study Freeman’s ‘dream state’ in famous gold medal run

Olympic great Cathy Freeman has revealed Monash University is conducting a study on how she handled the expectations of a nation ahead of winning gold in the 400 metres final of the 2000 Sydney Games.

Freeman was immortalised in folklore after arguably Australia’s greatest sporting moment when she surged to victory before 112,000 roaring fans at the Olympic Stadium – a race which stopped the nation.

Speaking at Melbourne United’s business lunch on Friday, Freeman, 51, said she was working with Monash University’s contemplative and conscious studies department on her meditative state during the race.

Olympic stars: The iconic Cathy Freeman is surrounded by legendary basketball Andrew Gaze (left), Opals captain Tess Madgen and Boomers star Chris Goulding on Friday.Credit: Penny Stephens

“When you are an athlete, especially a runner, and you are spending a whole pack of your time on your own, you come to understand the real key is what is happening inside of you. It’s like that internal life,” Freeman said.

“Some might call it mindfulness, some might call it meditation. Skip forward to Sydney before I walked out from under the stadium with the seven other competitors, the lights are similar to this [room] except multiply it by 20, 30, 50. So, here I am – there is this narrative around me, I was acutely aware of the narrative surrounding me, the story and the whole meaning.

“It’s not just about sport, it’s a little bit of social justice etcetera, etcetera, but, just before I step out from under [the] stadium … the last thing that was said to me was: ‘Go Cathy, go Cathy’. It was a man with brown hair.

“I just then went into some weird trance, or dream state, I am still trying to understand what happened. I walk out, and I don’t hear a thing until I cross the line, and that’s where [I say to myself]: ‘Where am I, someone help me out and understand it’. That’s one of the reasons why Monash have put me up as some sort of pin-up girl in terms of meditation, mindfulness, being in flow, in the zone, I guess, you could call it, too.”

The spotlight on Freeman, who won silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, was unparalleled, her race the centrepiece of a home campaign, with the Queensland-born star having lit the flame at the opening ceremony.

Cathy Freeman celebrates with the Australian and Indigenous flags.Credit: Nick Wilson /Allsport

While Freeman, clad in her famous bodysuit, crossed the finish line in a time of 49.11 seconds, becoming just the second Indigenous Australian Olympic champion after Nova Peris, she said she was disappointed to not have clocked a faster time under 49 seconds.

Freeman said she had wished her great rival, French star and, at that point, the two-time defending 400m Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec, had not fled the country in the days before the race. Freeman, 27 years of age at the time, had wanted to beat Perec’s Olympic-record time of 48.25s.

“The great Billie Jean King .... the great tennis player, said: ‘Pressure is privilege’. And it’s so true, because I had become used to expectation being put on me. I had grown quite used to it, and I almost needed it, because it kind of helps drive you, and push you, beyond what you think you are capable of doing,” Freeman said.

“Having said that, I don’t even think I really fulfilled my potential as an athlete, but that is another story. But learning to unburden yourself is really important, and to find freedom in life, is a key.”

Asked to elaborate on what she meant by having failed to fulfil her potential, Freeman replied: “I didn’t run as fast as I could have,” she said.

“I disappointed myself. That’s why I was so disappointed that Marie-Jose Perec wasn’t in the race because in her peak … we would have taken women’s 400m running to a next level.”

The former Australian of the Year said she remembered first hearing the news about Perec, possibly overwhelmed by the intense media coverage of the impending race, and her rivalry with Freeman, while training.

“I remember being on the warm-up track and hearing that she wasn’t going to be in Sydney, and not at the start line. I remember for a split second my heart dropped because competitors love competing,” Freeman said.

“When she wasn’t there, it was a bit of a blow, but what are you going to do? I am not going to chase her. I just had to move on really quickly.”

Freeman completed a lap of honour, carrying the Australian and Aboriginal flags, after her victory.

She said she was still in contact with Perec, Freeman having been interviewed recently for a documentary on Perec by a French television network.

“If she walked in the room now, I would be so happy to see her. I am probably the most casual competitor she has ever met, and I think she finds that incredibly weird,” Freeman said.

She said was looking forward to the Paris Olympics next month, and would be cheering on from home.

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