I was always surrounded by expectation from the very first race I ran as a 5-year-old.

I have been told many times that when I win I make my people proud to be Australian. I am Aboriginal, I am one of them and every time I win or am honoured like this it should be an example to Aboriginal people who may think they have nowhere to go but down. But more importantly I am an Australian and I would like to make all Australians feel proud to be Australian. Ours is a truly multicultural society and should be united as such. I would like to believe that my successes are celebrated by all Australians, bringing our nation together.

I want to keep my private life private.

I think the greatest amount of pressure is the pressure I place on myself. So in a way I chose to be alone.

I lie around the floor with my cats Billy and Jazz or watch DVDs with my best friends.

Australians are a fantastic bunch of people but the attention can be overwhelming for someone like me.

I made my first Australian senior team when I was 16, first Olympics when I was 19, and I retired. I'm 32, I retired four years ago, so a good third of my life or nearly a third of my life has been all about running.