Catherine Freeman
This profile of Australian Olympic athlete Cathy Freeman mentions her connection to the Faith and its influence in her life, even though she says she doesn’t consider herself a “devout Bahá’í.”
When Freeman was nine or 10, her mother’s conversion to the Baha’i faith was another seemingly random seed that would have enormous consequences for her future. Through the Baha’i community, Cecelia met her second husband, Bruce Barber, who would become Freeman’s first true believer and coach.
Moreover, some of the central tenets of Baha’i - oneness, equality, tolerance - would appear to explain Freeman’s extraordinary self-belief and strength of character in the face of the many instances of racism she describes in her book.
“I’m not a devout Baha’i but I like the prayers and I appreciate their values about the equality of all human kind,” she says.
“I’m not about barriers. I’m not about racism. I just take things in my stride. I always have. I don’t see what I can’t do, I see what I can do and that’s my strength.”
“Cecelia says Catherine is a Baha’i in her heart,” Lou Glover adds.
“I find that interesting because the unity of humankind is a very big Baha’i quality and I believe that Catherine is one of the only people in the history of this country that’s ever united the nation - albeit only for a couple of minutes.”