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Time freezes for Freeman
By Mitch Gelman, CNNSI.com SYDNEY, Australia -- After crossing the finish line in a race during which she embodied not only the talents of an Olympian but also the soul of a nation, Cathy Freeman sat at the end of the track cross-legged and exhausted, the hood of her body suit pulled from her head. "During the race, the roar of the crowd vibrated through my body," she said. "When it ended, I was relieved it was over. "I was so overwhelmed by the emotion. It seemed to absorb into every pore of my body." Freeman put her right hand over her eyes and then her left hand over her mouth as Olympic Stadium exploded in a rollicking roar. She licked her lips as other athletes patted her on the back, then appeared to fight back tears, circled her right hand, indicating that she was going to take a victory lap. Freeman walked barefoot to the edge of the stands where she was tossed a two-sided flag, half Australian and half Aboriginal. She draped the flag -- blue and white stars on one side, black, yellow and red stripes on the other - across her shoulders and moved to the center of the track. Freeman had previously said that she wanted to concentrate on running and avoid any political statements but following her gold-medal race, she raised the flag and held it in front of her chest and began to dance down the straightaway with flashbulbs popping. Freeman finally broke into a huge smile and time seemed to freeze while she slowly circled the Stadium. Later in the night, after the medal ceremony, Freeman walked to a woman sitting in the front row of the stands -- and she handed a bouquet of flowers to her mother, whose image appeared on the Stadium big screen, eliciting another huge ovation. A national hero to Australians, and much more than that to her fellow Aborigines, in the past 10 days, Freeman ignited the Olympic flame and achieved an Olympic dream.
"Why me?" she asked at the end of the night. "I'm just blessed."
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