- Australian track and field athlete wins gold in 400m at Sydney Olympics
- Recent DNA test revealed her true strength as a runner
Australian sporting legend Cathy Freeman has revealed her biggest regret after a DNA test revealed she is better suited to endurance running than sprinting.
Freeman, 51, won the 400-meter final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but now she wonders what it would have been like if she had also competed in the 800 meters.
“After retiring I now realise that I really had a hunger for the 800m so I switched from a one lap event to a two lap event,” she said News Corp.
‘I would really have liked to try the 800m.
“I do have some regrets, I would almost say, and I’ve never said that openly before, but I can admit it now because it’s in my DNA results.”
Freeman’s victory at Sydney Olympic Park on that famous September evening in 2000 was impressive on many levels.
The pressure was immense as the track and field star carried the nation’s hopes on her shoulders before streaking to victory.
Speaking on Channel Nine’s Today Show on Wednesday, Freeman also gave five simple pieces of advice to the Australian stars competing in the Paris Olympics: “Never forget who you are.”
Australian sporting legend Cathy Freeman has revealed her biggest regret after a DNA test showed she is more suited to endurance running than sprinting
Freeman, 51, famously won the women’s 400 metres final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, carrying the nation’s hopes on her shoulders
‘[Also] “Where you come from… or who you belong to,” Freeman told hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo on Wednesday.
“I think that’s really important. It keeps you grounded. There’s a lot of noise, excitement and emotion during the Games. That makes the journey much more memorable.”
Freeman later admitted that the gravity of what she achieved at the Sydney Games will never fully sink in.
‘[The] The short answer is no,” she said.
‘I am a forest child, a girl who lives barefoot, in wood and earth, but after all these years and in my infinite wisdom I can certainly respect the connection and the emotion that is released in the hearts and minds of people.
‘It [competing as an Olympian] is truly a gift… and when it came to running, it was freedom — complete freedom for me.
“Athletes like myself thrive in the Olympic environment, honestly, we love it. Even though the pressure on me was… enormous.
‘And for me it took 17 years, if you count all the training and preparation, and not just one lap on the track.’