I have no regrets in life: Cathy Freeman

She will turn 38 in a little over a month but Cathy Freeman still likes to believe and declare she’s a “little girl”. It may be hard to fathom, but in some ways, the Australian actually is! In fact, there’s something surreally childish about everything she does.

The way her eyes twinkle while watching the LCD screen beam out the most memorable moments of her career, the placid manner in which she bows to greet the waiting media, her gentle but firm style of gesticulating while putting her point across… everything. Maybe that’s what a legend is all about — simple and straightforward, yet great.

One doesn’t know if Freeman plans to pen an autobiography, but if she does, then ‘No Regrets’ is one title she wouldn’t mind considering. “Regrets? Why? I like to think of my life as a fantastic event. I believe I have been blessed abundantly. Yes, there have been tough times but that’s life,” says Freeman, who is an event ambassador for the Mumbai Marathon.

Mention the name Maria-Jose Perec and Freeman’s face lights up. The Frenchwoman was the hottest athlete of her time and Freeman’s chief rival. It was a sort of Carl Lewis-Ben Johnson rivalry. Perec had won most of the events in the run-up to the Olympics but she then pulled out of the 400 metres final, alleging that the Australian press was harassing her. So did Perec’s withdrawal take some sheen off her victory?

“Ah! I was so deflated. It sure took the wind off my sails,” said Freeman, who coasted to victory with an impressive timing of 49.13 seconds. Thereafter, she took a victory lap with the Australian flag in one hand and the aboriginal one in the other. That image is considered by many as one of the most heart-wrenching events in the history of Olympics.

“I was disappointed. I so badly wanted to run with her. I loved competition, I thrived on it,” Freeman said, in one breath. Well, that’s how much Perec’s absence affects her, still. To say that Freeman was lucky would be like denying Roger Federer credit for winning a Grand Slam in the absence of Rafael Nadal, or vice versa. So let’s leave it at that.

By the way, Freeman refrains from using the word ‘aboriginal’. Not that it’s derogatory but she just doesn’t. ‘Indigenous’ is what she prefers. And she’s a champion for their cause. Ever since she gave up running, Freeman has been working voluntarily through the Cathy Freeman Foundation, an organisation that focuses on bringing about a positive change in the lives of people who are “disconnected and distant” from the mainland.

Freeman is thrilled to know that the Preeja Sreedharans and Kavita Rauts did India proud at the recent CWG and Asiad. “Oh! Really? That’s great. Congratulations, India. It’s been a while since I saw your athletes. I’d be glad if someone takes me around.”

Interestingly, Freeman loves her cricket and believes her children — when she has them, that is — will take to it. “My husband, James Murch, and my father-in-law are huge cricket fans. Even I like it,” she gushes. And like most Aussies, Freeman, too, is flabbergasted after whatever happened to Ricky Ponting & Co. “I was at the Boxing Day Test. It was disheartening,” was all she managed. The Ashes, one can see, matters a lot to the Aussies.