Freeman aims for fifth Olympics in Beijing

Australia's Olympic 400 metres champion Cathy Freeman is refreshed after taking a break in 2001 and is considering competing long enough to run at the Beijing Games in 2008.

"Beijing is a long way away but time flies so quickly. I'm not an athlete under pressure like I was before Sydney," Freeman, 28, told a news conference in Melbourne on Monday.

"I'm an athlete who's just doing it for one reason, that's the pure love of it. It's so black and white like that.

"I feel that anything thrown at me now, I think I can deal with it okay.

"Long-term thinking, it makes life interesting I think."

Freeman, the world champion in 1997 and 1999, opted not to defend her 400 metres title in Edmonton, Canada last year.

Australia's most prominent Aboriginal sportswoman took the opportunity to sleep in, travel the world, eat as she pleased, drink red wine and visit friends.

Freeman will make her competitive comeback at the Melbourne Track Classic, an IAAF Grand Prix II event, on March 7.

"I'll be nervous. I don't know what to expect really," she said.

"I've got to get through it if I plan on winning in Manchester (Commonwealth Games in England in July).

RUNNING CAREER

"I really believe I can become much better than what I've proven to be already in my running career. It's all good.

"I'm absolutely looking forward to Athens 2004. I'll be 31, and that's still quite young," said Freeman.

"Who knows I may even go through to Beijing 2008. If I hadn't had a break I wouldn't have been so enthusiastic about the future.

"It's made me realise how much I absolutely love my running and how strong I feel and how happy I feel and how free I feel when I'm out there.

"My passion's pretty strong. My want is pretty strong. My enjoyment is amazing. I'm loving it."

Athletics Australia chief executive Simon Allatson said Freeman's comeback at the Melbourne Track Classic was a special moment for Australian sport.

"It (the Melbourne Track Classic) celebrates the comeback of a very special lady for Australian sport, a very special lady for Australia," Allatson said.

He said Australian athletics boasted an array of talent apart from Freeman, including world pole vault champion Dimitri Markov.

Freeman has already competed in three Olympics, finishing 17th in Barcelona and winning silver in Atlanta behind 1996 double Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec.

The Frenchwoman controversially walked out of the Sydney Olympics without competing in the 400 metres after claiming she had been threatened in her hotel.