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Success story Aborigine carries hopes of a nation
by Terry Baddoo, CNNSI.com SYDNEY-- She's an Australian icon whose popularity crosses all cultural barriers. Cathy Freeman is an Aboriginal runner who flies the flag for the minority and majority alike. After Freeman lit the Olympic cauldron to herald the start of the Games, she received more than 300,000 letters of congratulation. Such is the impact of Australia's first lady of the track. How did she feel about being chosen to light the cauldron? "Very, very, honored, very proud," she says. "And (it) gave me an extra little bit of incentive to train really even harder, if that was possible, than what I already was. And gave me that extra focus if that was possible." First the honor and then the glory. At least, if the script goes according to plan. And as the two-time world 400-meter champion with just one defeat in her last 42 races, there's every reason to believe that it will, provided she can stay in the zone. "The focus is always a relaxation, relaxation, relaxation. Because if you're relaxed I'm able to run faster and cope with the pressure, that say, somebody on my inside or somebody on my outside might be placing on me. And it's really important to run my own race." Freeman's relaxed feelings are markedly different to those of the Olympic champion, Marie-Jose Perec, who was expected to be among her main rivals for gold. Thursday's stormy departure of Perec and her finace' amid claims of stalking and media harassment, contrast sharply with Freeman's approach to fame which involves embracing it as a chance to effect a change for the Aboriginal community. "No, it's not a responsibility," says Freeman. "It's, you know, obviously it's just as I grow older my emotions get stronger and my pride in who I am just becomes really, really more obvious. It's all positive stuff." And of course there's nothing more positive than going for gold. It's an event she's approaching with singular focus. "Usually your heart's beating really fast and that thought often crosses your mind because it feels like your heart's going to jump out of your chest," Freeman says. "And it feels like everything around you isn't going on because you're so focused. It's something you only experience before an Olympic race." If successful Freeman will be the second Aborigine to win Olympic gold after field hockey player Nova Peris-Kneebone did it in 1996.
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