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Freeman re-ignites Sydney flame
Source: Agencies |
September 17, 2010, Friday
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THIS time, Cathy Freeman didn't have to stand around in a state of high panic as the world waited for the flame to ignite at Sydney Olympic Park.
Freeman, who provided the defining memories of the Sydney 2000 Olympics when she lit the cauldron and then won a gold medal 11 nights later, led Wednesday's celebrations for the 10th anniversary.
On September 15, 2000, Freeman had to wait for several minutes as a technical hitch delayed the sparking of the flame in the highly choreographed opening ceremony.
She held her nerve then, and again later at the games to deliver an expected triumph in the 400 meters, becoming the first Australian Aboriginal to win an individual Olympic gold medal.
In 2000, the identity of who would light the cauldron was a closely guarded secret, but not so a decade later - Freeman had a park adjacent to the main Olympic stadium dedicated in her honor earlier on Wednesday.
This time, in a white top and jeans instead of the shimmering white suit she wore in 2000, Freeman and Paralympic champion Louise Sauvage jointly ignited the anniversary flame in a ceremony more in keeping with the laid-back atmosphere of the games.
"I'm really deeply moved," Freeman said at the dedication ceremony. "I am feeling the love, and it's really quite amazing. It has blown me away."
Freeman, a two-time world champion and also silver medalist from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, retired in 2003 and later established the Catherine Freeman Foundation, with the aim of raising funds for the education of Aboriginal children on Palm Island off Australia's northeastern coast.
Freeman, who provided the defining memories of the Sydney 2000 Olympics when she lit the cauldron and then won a gold medal 11 nights later, led Wednesday's celebrations for the 10th anniversary.
On September 15, 2000, Freeman had to wait for several minutes as a technical hitch delayed the sparking of the flame in the highly choreographed opening ceremony.
She held her nerve then, and again later at the games to deliver an expected triumph in the 400 meters, becoming the first Australian Aboriginal to win an individual Olympic gold medal.
In 2000, the identity of who would light the cauldron was a closely guarded secret, but not so a decade later - Freeman had a park adjacent to the main Olympic stadium dedicated in her honor earlier on Wednesday.
This time, in a white top and jeans instead of the shimmering white suit she wore in 2000, Freeman and Paralympic champion Louise Sauvage jointly ignited the anniversary flame in a ceremony more in keeping with the laid-back atmosphere of the games.
"I'm really deeply moved," Freeman said at the dedication ceremony. "I am feeling the love, and it's really quite amazing. It has blown me away."
Freeman, a two-time world champion and also silver medalist from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, retired in 2003 and later established the Catherine Freeman Foundation, with the aim of raising funds for the education of Aboriginal children on Palm Island off Australia's northeastern coast.
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