Cathy Freeman Comeback

General Fitness
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I’M POSTING THIS CATHY FREEMAN COMEBACK STORY HERE JUST TO GET THE WORD :o VOMIT OFF THE CF HOMEPAGE. RETCH, UGH. SICK OF SEEING IT ALL DAY LONG FOR THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
ANYWAY, GOOD LUCK TO CATHY IF SHE DECIDES TO GO AROUND AGAIN.

FEBRUARY 5, 2005:
Australia’s former Olympic and world 400-metres champion Cathy Freeman said Sunday she was considering competing at next year’s Melbourne Commonwealth Games, reports said.

Freeman said she would seriously consider running in a Games relay team next March if there was overwhelming support'' for her comeback. If there was overwhelming support for me to come back - even for the relay - I would think about it, but not just if it was for myself,’’ she told Sydney’s Sun Herald newspaper.
It would be a lot of fun. It would be enough motivation for me to get out there and try again. If people feel that strongly about it, it would take that to convince me I should have a go again.’’
Freeman ruled out an individual return to the 400m, saying nothing could surpass her Sydney Olympic 2000 gold medal, which captivated a nation.
I don't think I could ever top what I felt in Sydney, and I've got too much pride,'' she said. If I was part of the relay I’d do it, but not the individual.
``The preparation…getting fit…is easy. And I don’t think I could lose that competitiveness and killer instinct, I’ve just channelled it into other things.’’
The Melbourne Commonwealth Games takes place from March 15-26 next year.

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What is the issue with her? :confused:

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Laziness and too much fat. :smiley:

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Hmmm…maybe she’s been a superstar and she doesn’t want a makeover and be remembered as anything less?

She is said by her old coach to be 2kg over her Sydney gold medal racing weight. People who have seen her, say she looks magnificent - very well toned muscles in her arms and legs, no butt, no tummy.

Remember she ran a pretty good 300 in Mexico city in 2003 on her way to Paris world champs, when she decided (after a bad 400 run in Eugene from memory) she just suddenly retired.

I don’t think she ever physically or mentally got over winning and lighting the flame in Sydney 2000. She tried to have a rest but she was just constantly being dragged around like a prize pony.

Then she met this actor and they had a great time for about 18 months and now that’s over and she’s thinking about what she’d like to do.

Maybe one of those options is to run again. She’s a nice person. This sport could do with a few more nice people. I hope she does return if that’s what makes her happy.

kk

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Yeah, after Sydney she was jerked around a lot by all sorts of different people, as she says in her autobiography. And I think she could have kept running through to Athens easily (and won there) if she wanted to. If she competes in the Commonwealth Games, it will give a nice boost to the interest of the event (at least down here).

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Oh yeah, um, well, maybe, I don’t know, oh, oh, yeah, maybe, geez. If Cathy does not run, what possibly could she do?? Really??? Put her in front of a camera and really, she is an embarrassment to Australia. She is thinking of running again because she has no brain and possibly running out of cash. She WAS a great athlete, but it stops there.

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wtf?
why is she an embarrassment?

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Why is she an embarrassment to Australia? I don’t understand. I can only think that you find her an embarrasment possibly because she exposed the plight of Aborigines in Australia and flew their flag. Maybe thats what you mean by embarrasment. She can emmigrate any time to UK we will have her not a problem. I am sure that the 400m girls in the GB team would not mind her running for them, they would learn so much.

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Cathy Freeman is an embarrassment? Wow, if your gold medal winners are embarrassments, what does that make the rest of you? Hey, if you don’t want her, tell her to come compete for Canada, we’ll take her!

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Cathy is one of the nicest people I have met. She is not a natural performer in front of the camera - she has not received the training for this that is now done by most elite junior (is there such a thing)

The girl has been able to run well since she was 12.

If Cathy decides to race again good on her.

What else can she do. Being a full time athlete from 18 doesn’t help get you any qualification in the work force does it.

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Hey well she might not be the most articulate person, but BoldWarrior you gotta admit, the general public love her. And she would be a good boost for track and field (in OZ) for the next 14 or so months if she decides to come back.

BoldWarrior, do you through implements as your event?

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When the MCG reburbishment is complete it will seat 105,000. How will the LOC fill that for six mornings and six night sessions at the 2006 Comm Games? They need some local heroes. Who you got in mind. Jana Pittman? That’s why I think there is sure to be inducements offered to Cathy to come back. The day she was expected to run in the Sydney Olympic 400m final - 25 Sept 2000 - the ticket sales for the night session were double oversubscribed. She pulled 112,000. Everyone knows she’s not the athlete she was, but she’s still the same person. She’s a real sweety.

kk

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What I mean to say is, she should just stick to running, period. She is a great runner no doubt. But really, have you heard her in front of a camera, commentating or such, its crazy. Don’t let her around a camera. Unless she is running. So she has had no training to be in front of a camera, so?? Don’t let her. She is dumb as fuck, a nice person, a superb athlete. Just don’t let her talk around a camera for any longer than you need. Come on people. I know I am not alone here. Let her run yes. And as for her being a full time athlete since 18, man, how stupid is that not getting an education during that time. What was her management thinking?? Are they as stupid as well?? To be in the Australian institute of sport, you need to be either part time working or studying. Purely training full time doing nothing else is crazy… Her management should be held accountable. Sport should be nobody’s means to an end. Hell look at our favorite Ben Johnson!! Get serious people. Once your day at the top is finished, move on with your life. If Cathy runs, very sub par compared to Sydney, she will make thousands, perhaps a million. Others, who will run better, will make bugger all. No wonder this country cant produce talent after talent. I could bitch about this country’s performances and athletic development, but that’s another post. You cant spent you whole life feeding on the fact you can run or used to be able to run. If Cathy was smart, she would be promoting and developing athletics and athletes. Who wants to go to just see one-person run, pump them all up. Too bad all she can do is run, even then, really, if Australia had a depth of talent, she would not even come close to making the relay team. But, this is Australia…

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Freeman is worth millions. Despite - or perhaps because of - her inability to play the media game, she has endeared herself to Australians in a way few if any other sports stars have ever. What you see is what you get.

There is little to no big money to be had promoting or developing athletics or athletes - unless they are as talented and popular and successful as Cathy Freeman.

I have read she is planning to take a university course. Even if she becomes a Professor in whatever subject she chooses, she is already wealthier than any university don in history.

How dumb is she then?

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how old is she now?

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I haven’t bothered to verify but read she would be 33 at the time of the 2006 Comm Games. Not too old if the mind and the body are willing… but that’s the big question isn’t it.

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Boldwarrior, shall we discuss the state (or lack there of) of track and field in our country. I’d love to hear (or read) your thoughts on the matter. Spill your mind, I have some thoughts too…

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Mate, rugby league used to be played for like hundreds of dollars per yr. now look at it, hundreds of thousands of dollars per yr for hundreds of athletes. And we are only talking like 20yrs ago… League is now a national past time, in QLD and nsw anyway. All it took was some intelligent marketing. The guys were already they’re playing. With the mentality like you are saying, then Australian athletics will continue to only pay its Stars any money. League pays average Joe like 40-50k yr plus training expenses, which can rack up thousands. Man, why would anybody in Australia train full time for athletics to make no money for yrs and yrs to maybe one day be good enough to earn decent dollars. All you have to be is decent and actually make a living out of league or union or AFL. Unless something is done, it will get worse and worse. Dam man, its so pathetic in regional Queensland no body does it outside of school, even then, at school they try to avoid it… Somebody like Cathy, should retire and stay retired, and be the face of promotion of athletics. They should teach the hell out of her like they did for her running in the art of Talking and presentation. Have some marketing guru do to athletics what they have done to other sports. I feel like stopping, but I will go on. Charlie says, you only get part time results out of part time athletes. So true. The thing I notice here is once people have finished Uni; they become part time because they need to work. Male’s anycase. If I were a female, I would shake up with a male with a good job and let him make the money while I trained my ass off. Like Cathy done. But, how often does that happen? Not enough. Most people here love to run, so why not get paid for it. Really though, so much talent here is going to be lost to these other sports because they pay you which allows you to train full time. Rugby league, AFL, rugby union, soccer, basketball, surf life saving, tennis, golf, motor sport, triathlon even. The only reason I did athletics for so long is because I dam well love the sport, would compete for nothing and did, but, I have to work, so, I only ever got part time results. Without a doubt, I could have excelled in track full time. Just that food and shelter comes at a price. People like me after Uni age north of Brisbane in Queensland are so few and far between you just don’t come across anybody. Man, you cant even buy spike shoes at half the sport shops anymore and that includes in Brisbane. If all Cathy can do is run to make athletics popular, it’s only working in Melbourne. But still, all I ever said was don’t stick her in front of a camera, least till she has done a lot of training for it. Be honest man, she cannot construct a sentence. Athletics is such a dead sport north of Brisbane; Cathy running will not do anything for anybody up this way. The only way Cathy could make a difference is by being involved in marketing. But then, why would She want to do this??? Oh, this should not include her commentating on television. Still, this is all bla bla bla at the end of the day; I doubt anything will get done about it. She is a great athlete, but still dumb. Just because she has millions and can run, does not make somebody Intelligent. A dumb fast rich person is still embarrassing when they try to talk unprepared on television. If I didn’t have two little kids demanding my time, which to me is more important, I would do it my self. Athletics in Qld would kick ass in ten yrs time. Maybe when I am older and the kids have grown up a bit. How’s that for a lot of blabbering?

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I hope your passion endures. But you realise the problems where you live are being experienced globally.
kk

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Hence the depth of national teams elsewhere seems to be dropping?? If I remember, the winner of the golden league got a massive 250k US. ?? Pathetic really. But then, look at the way athletics is marketed compared to the blockbuster sports. Athletics used to be a blockbuster sport, and for good reason. People I believe seem to like to sit back, drink their beer, smoke their cigarette or dope, take their recreational drugs or what not and watch sport. They want to see there champions get faster, bigger, stronger and break more records. Yet these same people for the life of me I don’t understand believe there champions are clean. Well of cause they are “clean” because the only drugs they really get tested for are recreational drugs. So the public then believe there champions are clean. Really, that is what should be done. But for some crazy reason, not athletics?? These sport-watching fans condone performance enhancing hence they are staying away from athletics in droves. Lets get back to how America was like in the 80’s. Let the home couch potato “believe” the whole sport is clean except for the occasional “Pot” user. Bust nobody. Get some rivalry happening. The Carl vs. Ben thing. Cathy vs. Peric. America vs. Russia. Australia vs. Canada. Lets forget about 9.78s is the record per se. What about more of records like Maurice greens number of times under 10sec? Or, the fact that the men’s 800m 1st lap was done 0.1sec faster than the winner of the females 400m final?? Lets make up records. If I believe, American football counts the passes per game of each competitor, yards gained, and tackles made ECT. Records everywhere. People love that. People generally don’t understand that for instance the men’s 800m 1st lap is run so fast until I tell them, hey, Cathy only just ran faster, or slower than that to win her400m!!! Then, they are amazed. But before that, they don’t give a rat’s ass. Make athletics appealing. Compare, not against records that will stand for yrs and yrs. breaking 10sec is easy or should be easy I am told??? You have pacers in middle distance and distance races… People don’t seem to realize that those pacers are pretty much also champions, yet they can only last so far. What about even, jumps, in the 100m the field is allowed 1 false start. Maybe the same with jumps, you miss once, any height, your out 2nd time, say you missed at 1.70cm, no 2nd chance at any height from then on. Speeds up the game, people will more than likely continue watching. I could not imagine watching a jump for hrs on end as every 2nd person fails his 1st jump at every 5cm increase in height. Same with throws. Really, be honest. Athletics can at time drag on and on. A rugby game goes for like 80min or something. Action action action. Athletics, jump - miss, throw - miss, the gun go off – false start. I have been at venues where there has been an awesome commentator, he makes the crowd!!! I mean, he was getting behind each race, pumping up some favorite and the crowd responded. He knew his stuff. It was the best atmosphere for athletics I have ever been involved in. Even Cathy was there, but, each race was pumped up, not just hers. Somebody in every race was made to feel like a Cathy. Man, that was a bomb carnival. The whole crowd loved it, and it was jam-packed. If every or most carnivals were run like that, then athletics would be thriving. I have been to two carnivals like that. That’s all. Sad. One of the worst commentators I have heard, who was also a great athlete, she knows her stuff and seems intelligent, but is dull, kills the sport with her a pb or a world record is the only thing mentality, Jane Fleming. If she could change for the better of its sport, she would be great, cause she is sexy as hell. She needs some enthusiasm and get away from perfection. Not every footy game is perfection by far, but people still love it. It’s the commentator who will make it exciting or dull. The winner just ran 10.99!!! Man that was awesome… what possibly was going through their minds to run the slowest winning time ever??? Hold on, their start was like 3sec for 10m!! That makes the rest of the race fantastic!! You know, bullshit. I have heard some commentator, I recon he could make frog racing exciting,