Shattering the glass ceiling in a footy-obsessed nation, three Australian women across three different sports have done it again and notched another win. Cathy Freeman, Ash Barty and Sam Kerr are the three Australian sporting figures most admired by the public, a DemosAU poll of more than 5000 people found. “It really shows Australians will revere sporting heroes regardless of their gender,” he said. Olympic gold medalist Cathy Freeman has been named Australia's most admired sporting figure. The online poll took place over three weeks from late May to mid June with 5361 people aged over 18 participating.