Young Fan Meets Idol Star

ATHLETICS royalty came together in a South Melbourne cafe on Monday with the queen of the track meeting her heir apparent for the first time.
When Morgan Mitchell made the Commonwealth Games team last month the new national 400m champion admitted her dream was to one day meet Cathy Freeman.
Athletics Australia board member Anne Lord, a long-time friend of Freeman’s, made it happen with Morgan and her coach Peter Burke chewing the fat over calamari salad with the Sydney Olympic champion.
“When she walked in I was like, ‘Oh my God’,” Morgan said. “I didn’t even know what to do. I just froze and I couldn’t stop staring at her so she probably thought what is this girl doing. I was in awe.”
The pair talked athletics and life with Cathy arranging for Morgan to attend an upcoming luncheon for the Cathy Freeman Foundation.
“We talked about her experiences and she gave me a few little life lessons. When we talked about her training it kind of woke me up.
“I was like ‘Oh my God’ as she used to train twice a day every day except for one — she’d only train once on a Saturday. So it looks like I’m going to have to up the ante now.”
SONS OF THE WEST UNITE TO SAVE LIVES
AN end-of-season exhibition match across the other side of the world has ended up being more than a bonding exercise for the Western Bulldogs.
Today at the Whitten Oval the club launches “Sons of the West”, a free men’s health initiative developed in alliance with one of the most famous soccer clubs on the planet, Liverpool FC.
When the Dogs were in London to play Port Adelaide in 2012, key executives from the club took the opportunity to visit Anfield and struck up a relationship with Liverpool FC Foundation — the community arm of the EPL powerhouse.
The Bulldogs want to engage up to 2000 men across the west of Melbourne and promote healthier lifestyles and improved health (www.sonsofthewest.org.au).