Calab Law: Inspired by Cathy Freeman, Australia’s record-breaking Indigenous sprinter is running for more than gold at the Pacific Games 

Calab Law may only be 19 but he’s already a history-maker within his country.

The rapid young track athlete made waves in 2022 when he became the first Australian teenager to reach a semi-final of the 200m at a World Athletics Championships, following it up just months later with bronze at the World U20 Championships.

But these records are just steps towards a far greater goal for Law, who has aspirations to match - and even beat - the accolades of Australian greats, including the Sydney 2000 400m gold medallist and sporting icon Cathy Freeman.

“I’ve always wanted to do it since I was a kid. I’ve always watched athletes like Cathy Freeman, and I’ve always sat there like, ‘I want to do that’,” he told SBS Australia in an interview prior to this year’s Pacific Games where he will compete in both the men's 100m and 200m.

“I want to be better than them. So, I think now that I’m almost at the level that I want to be, I’m going to keep going and keep pushing to be better.”

An ambassador for First Nations communities within the athletics world

Freeman and Law both share the fact they are proud Indigenous athletes, with the latter a member of the Wakka Wakka people from near Cherbourg in Queensland.

After his aunt Karla discovered his talent as a 10-year-old, she took charge of his initial development as an athlete.

“My Aunty Karla was a 400m runner and saw potential in me, so I gave it a go,” he told Athletics Australia of his initial forays into the sport.

But while Karla was the most obvious source of help for the fledgling sprinter, he has found constant support from his tribe.

“Ever since I was little, it’s always been a part of my family,” he said. “All of my family on the Indigenous side… from my experience, it’s a very supportive culture.

“Everyone supports each other, and everyone is there for each other. With my family, I’m not even related to (some of) them but that’s my aunty, that’s my cousin and that’s my uncle. They’re always there for you.”

Law is now eager to give back to the wider Australian Indigenous community, taking on a position as an ambassador within the Share a Yarn initiative. The programme connects athletes with First Nations communities in order to learn about their cultures, lands, histories and people, to enable them to then share what they have learned within the wider sporting world.

Calab Law: “I want someone to look up to me like I look up to Cathy"

After the heroics of 2022, the last year has been a challenging one for Law who suffered a stress fracture in his spine at the beginning of 2023.

It means the 2023 Pacific Games will be the first time he has donned an Australian vest in competition in eight months.

But as he aims for gold in the Solomon Islands and sets his sights upon qualification for Paris 2024, he will be running not only for himself but for a greater goal of representing Australian aboriginal groups on the global stage. Freeman’s historic Sydney gold no doubt plays through his mind as he prepares for the next stage of his blossoming career.

“I’ve watched it a thousand times,” he told Brisbane Times when asked whether he’d seen Freeman compete at the 2000 Olympics.

“I’ve watched her videos, I’ve watched her Olympics 2000 race, I’ve watched her World Championships.

“My mum used to play it on the TV, and she still gets goosebumps and so do I.

“I want someone to look up to me like I look up to Cathy or look up to other Indigenous sprinters - that’s really what I want by the end of my career.”

The beginning of the journey to Brisbane 2032

Law will be 28 when the 2032 Olympics take place in Brisbane, Australia - perhaps the prime age for a sprinter.

And while Paris 2024 and LA 2028 are far closer on the horizon, it hasn’t stopped him from dreaming of what he could achieve at a home Olympic Games.

“I want to be the defending Olympic champion [at] the Brisbane Olympics,” he said to Brisbane Times.

It will be a challenging road for Law, who is first aiming to break the Australian 200m record, which currently sits at 20.06 seconds, some 0.36 seconds faster than Law’s own PB of 20.42 set in August of last year.

However, while Law wasn’t even born until three years after the last time his country hosted the 2000 Olympics, when Freeman so memorably lit the cauldron before storming to gold, he is determined that this time around he will shine brightly on the greatest sporting stage of all.

“As soon as I heard it announced, I was like: well, that’s the Olympics that I want to win,” he said.