Editing Cathy Freeman (section)

==Personal life==
Freeman was born in 1973 at Slade Point, [[Mackay, Queensland|Mackay]], [[Queensland]], to Norman Freeman and Cecelia Barber.<ref name=messagestick/> Norman was born in [[Woorabinda]] of the [[Birri Gubba]] people; Cecelia was born on [[Great Palm Island|Palm Island]] in Queensland, and is of [[Kuku Yalanji]] heritage. Moreover, Freeman also has [[Syrians|Syrian]] ancestry.<ref>{{cite web | title=Cathy Freeman OAM, b. 1973 | website=National Portrait Gallery people | date=18 March 2020 | url=http://www.portrait.gov.au/people/cathy-freeman-1973/ | access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Aiton |first=Jessie |date=2022 |title=Meandering through the Windsor Hotel when I encountered a memorable culture clash: Doug Aiton reflects on his interview with Cathy Freeman |url=https://radioinfo.com.au/news/meandering-through-the-windsor-hotel-when-i-encountered-a-memorable-culture-clash-doug-aiton-reflects-on-his-interview-with-cathy-freeman/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-09-19 |title=Face of the new, multicultural Australia |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/face-of-the-new-multicultural-australia/L6LBLR6XCXQ2PFM6SEBNRA7TL4/ |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref> Freeman and her brothers Gavin, Garth, and Norman were raised in Mackay and in other parts of Queensland. She also had an older sister, Anne-Marie, who was born in 1966 and died in 1990. Anne-Marie had [[cerebral palsy]] and spent much of her life in the Birribi care facility in [[Rockhampton]].<ref name=messagestick>[http://www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s1584631.htm Cos I'm Free (AKA Cathy Freeman)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113205749k/stories/s1584631.htm |date=13 January 2014 }}, Transcript, ''[[Message Stick]]'', [[ABC Television (Australian TV network)|ABC Television]], 11 March 2006.</ref>

Freeman attended several schools, including schools in Mackay and Coppabella, but was mostly educated at [[Fairholme College]] in [[Toowoomba]] where she attended after winning a scholarship to board there.<ref name=anu>[http://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/freeman-catherine-cathy-15410 Indigenous Australia: Catherine (Cathy) Freeman], National Centre of Biography, [[Australian National University]] website. Retrieved 7 August 2017</ref>

Freeman's parents divorced in 1978,<ref name="SBS1"/> after which her father returned to Woorabinda.<ref name=anu/>

Freeman has described how she has been influenced by early experiences with racism and also by the [[Baháʼí Faith]].<ref name=messagestick/> She was raised a [[Catholic]], and says of her faith, "I'm not a devout Catholic but I like the prayers and I appreciate their values about the equality of all human kind."<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/the-love-and-pain-that-inspire-cathy/2006/03/08/1141701518668.html?page=fullpage The love and pain that inspire Cathy, Top athlete may journey from the winner's podium to the Academy Awards] by Michael Dwyer, ''The Age'', 9 March 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?SBN=9780143302384&page=extract Born to Run (extract)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919011834/http://penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?SBN=9780143302384&page=extract |date=19 September 2007 }} Chapter 1 ''Running Free'', [[Penguin Group]] (Australia)</ref>

Freeman had a long-term romantic relationship with Nick Bideau, her manager, that ended in acrimony and legal wranglings over Freeman's endorsement earnings.<ref>[[Raelene Boyle]] (22 March 2006) [http://smh.com.au/news/commentary/mottrams-manipulator/2006/03/21/1142703363720.html " Bideau's methods are make or break"]. ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''</ref><ref>Brendan Gallagher (24 June 2004). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/brendangallagher/2381672/Cathy-Freeman-tells-her-story.html Cathy Freeman tells her story]. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.</ref> Freeman married Alexander "Sandy" Bodecker, a [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] executive 20 years her senior, in 1999. After her success in Sydney she took an extended break from the track to nurse Bodecker through a bout of throat cancer from May to October 2002.<ref>Jacquelin Magnay (8 November 2002) [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/07/1036308423573.html "Sandy beats cancer"], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''.</ref> She announced their separation in February 2003. Later that year, Freeman began dating Australian actor [[Joel Edgerton]] whom she had initially met at the 2002 ''[[TV Week]]'' [[Logies]]. Their relationship ended in early 2005.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/news/People/Cathy-and-Joel-split/2005/01/21/1106110917670.html "Cathy and Joel split"], ''The Age'', 21 January 2005.</ref>

In October 2006, Freeman announced her engagement to Melbourne stockbroker James Murch.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20567247-421,00.html |title=Cathy Freeman to wed again |last=Sheahan |first=Kate |author2=Gullan, Scott |date=12 October 2006 |work=[[news.com.au]] |access-date=22 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915112736/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C20567247-421%2C00.html |archive-date=15 September 2008 }}</ref> They married at Spray Farm on the [[Bellarine Peninsula]] on 11 April 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/sprinter-freeman-walks-down-the-aisle-20090412-a3pk.html|title=Sprinter Freeman walks down the aisle|date=12 April 2009|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=12 April 2009}}</ref> Freeman gave birth to her first child in 2011.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/people/cathy-freeman-gives-birth-20110708-1h6ig.html "Cathy Freeman gives birth"], ''[[The Age]]'', 8 July 2011.</ref> In August 2024 Freeman and Murch announced their separation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Olympic legend Cathy Freeman and husband James Murch announce separation after 15 years of marriage |url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/champions/olympic-legend-cathy-freeman-and-husband-james-murch-announce-separation-after-15-years-of-marriage/news-story/8ef37020a3c285c48d30b0dc2a45e93a |website=[[News.com.au]] |date=16 August 2024}}</ref>

Freeman is a supporter of [[National Rugby League]] team the [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks]] and [[Australian Football League]] team the [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton Blues]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-03-01 |title=Olympic hero Freeman now a Shark |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympic-hero-freeman-now-a-shark-20050302-gdku5p.html |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |language=en}}</ref> Freeman was also a part of the "Group of 14" who backed the return of the [[South Sydney Rabbitohs]] to the NRL following their exclusion in 2000 and 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carayannis |first=Michael |date=2014-10-06 |title=Cathy Freeman a secret weapon behind South Sydney Rabbitohs' grand final success |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/cathy-freeman-a-secret-weapon-behind-south-sydney-rabbitohs-grand-final-success-20141006-10qx8r.html |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |language=en}}</ref>

On 10 October 2023, Freeman was one of 25 [[Australians of the Year]] who signed an [[open letter]] supporting the Yes vote in the [[2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum|Indigenous Voice referendum]], initiated by psychiatrist [[Patrick McGorry]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Butler | first=Josh | title=Australian of the Year winners sign open letter saying no vote in voice referendum would be a 'shameful dead end' | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=11 October 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/11/indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-australians-of-the-year-open-letter | access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref><ref name=letter>{{cite web | last=Winter | first=Velvet | title=Voice referendum live updates: Australians of the Year Yes vote letter in full | website=[[ABC News (Australia)]] | date=10 October 2023 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/live-updates-voice-referendum-latest-news-october-11/102958838 | access-date=11 October 2023}}</ref>