Scorching the track

SYDNEY — So the Australian dollar is falling, the tension between the Aborigines and the whites throughout the continent is still seething, the weather in Sydney is downright chilly and overcast at the start of Week 2 of the Summer Games, and the bogong moths have infiltrated Olympic Stadium.

She'll be right, mate. She'll be right.

For Australia's favorite daughter and the world's most recognized Aborigine has rescued the nation once again, as Cathy Freeman returned to the scene of her cauldron-lighting performance at the Olympic Stadium to put the finishing touches on her Olympics. Ten days earlier, Freeman's poignant pose with the torch quickly dispelled the cloud of pessimism that many Aussies had cast over the 2000 Olympics.

These are not Sydney's Games any more. They're Cathy's Games, with a cameo appearance by some wet-head teen by the name of Ian Thorpe.

Freeman accomplished everything expected of her Monday night, winning the women's 400 meters with a season-best time of 49.11 seconds. She held off the best the world had to offer, a runaway Marie-Jose Perec notwithstanding .

Lorraine Graham of Jamaica ran a personal best of 49.58 for the silver medal. Katharine Merry of Great Britain slated a personal best of 49.72 for bronze. Donna Fraser of Great Britain ran a personal best of 49.79 for fourth place and no spot on the podium.

Meanwhile, the men's 400 was just as monumental, as the United States' Michael Johnson capped off his individual career with the successful defense of his gold medal four years previous. He became the first man to win the Olympic 400 twice, and it might have been three had he not suffered a food-poisoning attack at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

There was little question that Johnson would win, which he did in a time of 43.84 seconds. The real question was if he would pull a stunt like Maurice Greene did after winning the men's 100 two nights previous and chuck his shoes up into the stands.

While Greene's stars-and-stripes Nike spikes are said to be worth up to $100,000 each for the two spectators who snagged a shoe, Johnson's pair would likely be worth much more — not just because he wore them, but because Nike had sewn 24-karat droplets into the fabric.

In Atlanta, the shoes appeared golden. In Sydney, they simply were.