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•	Women’s participation in the Olympic Games has risen from 1.6% in 1900 to 38.2% in 2000.

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I had done it
Cathy Freeman

Australia

GALLERY

CONVERSATION

I HAD DONE IT. Ever since I was a little girl running around in Mackay in northern Queensland, Australia, I had dreamt of this moment. At Homebush Stadium on September 25, 2000, I achieved my lifelong goal of winning an Olympic gold medal. And to do so in Australia in front of 112,000 people screaming my name - it was magical. You cannot imagine my sense of relief at crossing the finish line. It was like I had been trapped in a sauna and suddenly the door had been flung open. This shot was taken on my victory lap. I hadn't done one since the 1994 Commonwealth Games, where I had been criticized in some quarters for flying the Aboriginal flag, so this time I made sure that I picked up both the Aboriginal and the Australian flags that the crowd had thrown onto the ground by the finish line. I tied them together and put them around my neck and tried to make my way around the track without bumping into all the photographers around me. The crowd was going crazy, and music was pumping out around the stadium - I couldn't believe I had made so many people so happy. I'm so proud of who I am and where I'm from, and to me, this photo brings it all together perfectly. Pure joy, pride, and relief all mixed together. I may feel like just a little black girl who can run fast, but I'm also a woman who followed her heart and achieved her childhood dream. I am honored that I was able to share my golden moment not only with everyone in the stadium that night, but with Australia, and with my people.

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Thank you IMOW, for trying to change the world one byte at a time; thank you, Voters for showing us that you care, and thank you, dear fellow artists, for creating a vibrant tapestry of words, images and sounds that connect us to each...

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