Subjects: Cathy Freeman; Olympic Games.
E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………
PRESENTER:
The Prime Minister John Howard has described the experience of watching Freeman’s win as fantastic and a great thrill.
PRIME MINISTER:
It was a brilliant race. She’s an outstanding athlete. And the exuberance and joyful reaction that she displayed was something that I think warmed everybody’s heart.
JOURNALIST:
Have you had a chance to congratulate here in person?
PRIME MINISTER:
No not yet but I will.
JOURNALIST:
And what will you say to her?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I’ll just say very simply that it was a wonderful thing and all Australia is very proud of her as we are of all of the athletes that have won medals for Australia. But of course there was something very special about Cathy’s win. And it’s the first time we’ve won a gold medal in track and field for 12 years and that in itself is remarkable and of course it’s also the 100th gold medal won by Australia at the Olympic Games.
JOURNALIST:
And what do you think about Cathy Freeman carrying the Aboriginal flag as well as the Australian flag as she did her victory lap of the stadium?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think that’s terrific. I’ve never had any qualms about that. I think she is proud of her Aboriginality and she’s proud of being an Australian. It’s a perfectly natural thing to do and I don’t think anybody would be the least bit concerned about it.
JOURNALIST:
And do you think there was a reconciliation message in that for Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look, I think everybody’s happy for her and very happy for what it represents. She’s a role model to young Australians, Aboriginal Australians and other Australians and I think everybody’s extremely happy and what these Games have done is to dissolve differences and bring Australians closer together. I think that’s the way in which most of the country will see it. And Cathy’s contribution to that has been immense but so have the contributions of so many other people. I mean there’ve been remarkable performances by young men and women in so many events and I’ve had the privilege of witnessing so many of them and I’m very proud of what they’ve done for our country.