Cathy Freeman

This occasion is personally very meaningful and I hope to visit Korea again if I have the chance.

I like being in the workforce; it keeps me grounded.

I don't like people looking at me; I hate the attention.

People could see in me who I am now, an Olympic champ, the best in the world.

I have time to breathe, time to be myself more often, I am a lot more relaxed and less guarded.

My last real race was at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.

Between 1991 and 1997 I had really serious asthma.

I'm so lucky. I have such a great support system. All I have to do is run.

I definitely do things on my terms, it may not seem that way but I actually do.

I want to keep my private life private.

I make no apologies.

I was going to shave it. It went in two parts. I got a bob first but it kept falling all over my face. Then it was off, short. The main reason it was long was because my mother cut it short when I was little and I was trying to make up for that.

Australians are a fantastic bunch of people but the attention can be overwhelming for someone like me.

I don't agree with everything Madonna's done but she is fearless.

When I'm in a bad mood, I don't listen.

Peace, unity and harmony!

I was always surrounded by expectation from the very first race I ran as a 5-year-old.

I lie around the floor with my cats Billy and Jazz or watch DVDs with my best friends.

I made my first Australian senior team when I was 16, first Olympics when I was 19, and I retired. I'm 32, I retired four years ago, so a good third of my life or nearly a third of my life has been all about running.

I don't have a lot of regrets in my life.