Talk:Cathy Freeman

Untitled
I think Cathys achivement at Sydney olympics needs to be put in context of the preasure that was placed on her by the popular press. This preasure seemed to be compounded by the bestowing of the flame lighting priviledge upon her - something usually given for past performance, not expected performance. It seemed to me, as aforiegn spectator, that she was running for herself, her race, her country, and her generation. Yeah right, no preasure. I am reminded of this by the current Qantas add on TV whew she says "Use the preasure". That just blows me away. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.210.197.178 (talk) 11:33, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

Photo
Doesn't show her face. Surely there must be a better one? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.212.26.111 (talk) 12:20, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Untitled comments
In the first version of this article, I added that the aborigines in Australia are/were an often discriminated group. This was later removed, stating it was a non-NPOV part of the article.

For me this, this discrimination is virtually a fact. It would in my eyes be the same to say the South African government was (not is) discriminating blacks is non-NPOV.

Can the editor - or anybody else - help me see why it is not NPOV? Jeronimo 01:58 Jul 31, 2002 (PDT)


 * Hmmm. That discrimination occurred in the past is pretty much indisputable. That Aborigines, as a group, now and in the past are disadvantaged (in terms of financial resources, health, education levels etc) compared to the wider Australian population is also true. That Aborigines are still systematically discriminated against (as distinct from suffering from the effects of past discrimination, disposession, and a severe clash of values) is hotly disputed and is a discussion that belongs elsewhere on the Wikipedia. For the purposes of this article describing the Aboriginal people as disadvantaged should suffice. --Robert Merkel

Yes, you are right. The current wording more accurately says what I wanted to say. Thanks! Jeronimo

faith
adherents.com lists her as bahai, but i could not find any other reference to this. This made me suspicious, as she would probably be the most famous living bahai. Can any-one confirm this?

How is this relevant! perhaps concentrate on her achievements. Why must religion be brought into everything?!?194.46.230.53
 * Anything relating to her biography, including her religion, is relevant. --Angr (t·c) 09:01, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Read her book (a journry just begun) its in there —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.57.31.55 (talk) 08:23, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Tribe
Does anyone know which tribe she belongs to? --Angr (t·c) 09:01, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Coz I'm Free
I remember that she had a tattoo during the Sydney Olympic Games on her shoulder(?) saying Coz I'm Free. Was that temporary? It would be nice to have a picture of it.Iago4096 13:41, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

No, it was a permanent tattoo and is from the lyrics of a favourite song of hers. The tattoo is visible in some pictures of her, notably a portrait she had done after her retirement. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.175.233.178 (talk) 21:48, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Phrasing
I want to know how people feel about the phrasing of the current sentence "she is regarded as a role model for her people" or this one "she is regarded as a role model by her people". What does everyone think? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.92.103.196 (talk • contribs).

Well, I'd say one is that her people regard her as a role model (any) people could aspire to emulate (but not necessarily for them), whereas the other means she is regarded as a role model her people could emulate (but not necessarily regarded so by them)(79.190.69.141 (talk) 21:27, 10 August 2012 (UTC))

Chinese?
Heard somewhere that she has a chinese great, great grandfather or something. If true, does that merit inclusion into the article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.104.66.1 (talk) 12:56, 17 April 2007 (UTC).

Yeah that's correct. I added a bit towards the end of the Personal section about her Chinese and English heritage. Feel free to add more specifics.Schmooey82 (talk) 12:30, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

"runned fast"
We've all said some silly/incorrect things. Is it really necessary to have this as the only quote from Cathy? I've lived in Australia for the past 10 years and have heard many interviews with Cathy. She is quite intelligent and, although not always extremely eloquent when "on the spot", I'm sure we could find some more powerful words from her. The quote actually sounds like it's meant to put her down. Any comments?--Todhall 15:47, 18 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes, it sounds like some kind of POV pushing meant to diminish her. I have removed it.--Jersey Devil 04:18, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Colour Coding
perhaps there should be a key for the colours used. Obviously the yellow gold is for 1st place, silver is for second etc, but what is the green entry for? at the 1998 Australian Championships? (Namzie11 (talk) 08:47, 9 April 2008 (UTC))

Aboriginal
Is there any particular reason why there is absolutely no mention of Australian Aboriginals on this page? I was under the impression that Freeman, at least, considered it part of her identity. The talk page seems to indicate that mention was made in past revisions of this article. Why has it been removed? -- 01:23, 1 May 2008 (JST))

No idea why that fact was missing. Just added it. HiLo48 (talk) 08:17, 21 March 2010 (UTC)

Australian Aboriginal was included in the article's lead sentence. The opening sentence normally states the nationality, not race. I moved the reference to her race to the end of the lead paragraph. Wikipeterproject (talk) 08:01, 30 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I won't change your edit, but just make the point that Cathy Freeman's Aboriginality has been a major part of her public and private persona for much of her life, much more so than for many other people with an Aboriginal background. It's not giving it undue weight to mention it in the lead. HiLo48 (talk) 08:21, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Sandy Bodecker?
umm she didnt marry sandy Bodecker, it was Alexander Bodecker May 19th 2008, 8:30pm (NZL)
 * Same person!

Thatlot!! (talk) 21:32, 19 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Japanese anime K-ON::

In episode 9 series 2 of the anime K-ON, the character Yui is studying (actually, she's playing guitar) and her book is shown. She is reading (or supposed to be) about Cathy (79.190.69.141 (talk) 21:24, 10 August 2012 (UTC))

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20120425080757/http://living.oneindia.in/celebrity/sports/kathy-freeman-profile-olympic-games.html to http://living.oneindia.in/celebrity/sports/kathy-freeman-profile-olympic-games.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080915112736/http://www.news.com.au:80/story/0,23599,20567247-421,00.html to http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20567247-421,00.html

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Not "Australian Indigenous person"
It is claimed in the article that Freeman is an "Australian Indigenous person" or a "Aboringine". She is not. She has some Aboriginal ancestry. To call her a Aborigine is like calling Donald Trump Scottish.203.80.61.102 (talk) 20:17, 1 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Like a majority of "Aboringines" she is of mixed racial origins - as are almost all human beings for that matter(!) On the other hand, being an "Aboringine" means belonging to a group that are (alas) subject to unfavorable treatment by some Australian people. Since this unfavourable treatment is not dependent on racial purity it would be decidedly odd to restrict positive mention of "Aboriginality" to people who could demonstrate that they had no "white" blood. Incidentally, the use of the word "Aborigine" (even if you can be bothered spelling it correctly) is at best rather old-fashioned, at worst very nearly as bad as "Nigger". As for Trump - if a tiny bit of Scottish ancestry (I always thought his parentage was mainly German?) meant you were metaphorically (or literally) kicked in the face every day then yes, we probably would describe him as "Scottish". As it is most English speaking people have a "spot of the tartan". -Soundofmusicals (talk) 06:08, 22 September 2016 (UTC)

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Protection
Any reason why this frequently (and quite regularly) vandalised article has not been protected? --Soundofmusicals (talk) 09:21, 29 November 2017 (UTC)

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Personal life details
Regarding these edits by me, their reversion by. I've re-applied of some of my edits: Regarding the other details I removed, but have left there (after the reversion) pending discussion: Mitch Ames (talk) 06:20, 3 March 2018 (UTC)
 * – The reference says "free" not "Free". If there's a reference with "Free", please cite it.
 * – Per WP:BLPNAME, "The presumption in favor of privacy is strong in the case of family members...". I don't see that the details add anything to the reader's understanding of the Cathy Freeman, so (even if they are well-sourced) they ought not be here unless someone can explain why they should be here. (I've left "first child" and the year, which I think is reasonable, without violating BLP.)
 * It could be considered notable that Anne-Marie was in a care facility - when the paragraph is about Cathy's immediate family as she was growing up - but the rest of the detail is irrelevant to the reader's understanding of Cathy. Text like "provides high level care for persons with disabilities" tells us nothing about Cathy. "Freeman and her mother spoke of the memories they had of Anne-Marie" is so vague as to be useless. (You could say the same thing about anyone who had lost a family member.)
 * The details of the driver of the vehicle that killed Norman and Garth is completely irrelevant to the reader's understanding of Cathy, and (to my mind) borders on a BLP violation (even if well-sourced), and is certainly a violation of WP:PROPORTION. Even the details of Norman's death don't belong here unless there is some specific, documented impact on her life. (Fictitious example to illustrate the point: "Freeman took up running to cope with the death of her brother Norman, killed in a car crash.")
 * Details of who raised Freeman's father are irrelevant unless those details had some demonstrable affect on her life. Per WP:NOTGENEALOGY, "Family histories should be presented only where appropriate to support the reader's understanding of a notable topic".
 * Perhaps her grandfather Frank Fisher (rugby league) is worth mentioning, because he's notable enough for an article. I think it's borderline, but wouldn't argue the point.
 * In the absence of any other comments, I've deleted the extra material again. Mitch Ames (talk) 11:41, 21 March 2018 (UTC)