Aboriginal Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman was in her early 20s when she sprinted her way to the top of the leaderboard at the Summer Atlanta Olympics back in 1996 -- and making a triumphant return four years later to the 2000 Summer games in Sydney.
Freeman specialized in the 400 meter event with a personal best of 48.63 seconds, which to this day still ranks her as the eighth fastest woman of all time. And at the 2000 Olympics, she took the crown for her 400 meter specialty and lit the Olympic Flame!