Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman is a celebrated Australian Aboriginal former sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres event. She became an Olympic champion at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, winning the 400 metres and famously lighting the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony. Freeman was the first Aboriginal Australian to become a Commonwealth Games gold medalist at age 16 in 1990 and also won two World Championship gold medals. Her athletic success and proud representation of her Indigenous heritage have made her a national icon and a powerful symbol of reconciliation in Australia.