Sydney Olympics gold medallist Cathy Freeman stood on the podium that famous bright night back in 2000, beaming outwardly as the beacon of hope for Indigenous Australians at the Games after camera flashes all around illuminated the 400-metre champion.

It was supposed to be moment where Sydney's torchbearer would lead the mob to follow.

But five Olympics have come and passed, and the reach of that legacy has been a distance too far for the Australian Olympic Committee to wait any longer.

Nearly 24 years on, the spirit of the Olympic flame that Freeman once held over its cauldron to not just the world nor the nation, but to First Nations' communities back on Country is flickering once again.

The grasp of gold medals have turned not directly on future Olympians, but towards their future as Olympians through a cultural shift on coaching.

Coaches no longer have to be greying, wise, old men whose knowledge is restricted to the skills and tactics of a sport.

The Australian Olympic Indigenous Coaching Scholarship is about understanding the culture of an athlete and to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders the response to the well-worn adage that "you can't be what you can't see" that encapsulates Freeman's phenomenon.

The Indigenous coaching scholarship program is in its second year and has provided 12 ex-sports talent high-level professional development, education and formal training across the past 12 months to become Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in Olympic sports.

Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll was full of praise for the legacy the newest graduates will leave from their own continual resiliency across a number of their careers.

"The AOC is committed to Indigenous Reconciliation through sport, and delivering practical outcomes lies at the heart of that commitment," Carroll said.

"Without coaches, we don't have Olympians … we could not deliver this excellent program that we celebrate today with the graduation of our 12 coaches."

The coaches are now accredited to deliver ongoing coach development courses in targeted Indigenous communities across the nation on behalf of the AOC.

The recent graduates will begin visiting Communities soon after the 2024 Paris Olympics to capture the imagination of the Games and pass on their knowledge from the scholarship.

The program's ultimate goals is to have a greater representation of Indigenous Olympians standing on the podium for Brisbane 2032.

Libby Cook-Black will join colleagues Andrew Thorpe, TJ Cora and Tiana Brockhurst as the Indigenous coaches to train up the mob for the Olympic marathon.

Cook-Black represented Australia internationally on the rugby league field until in 2020, where she signed up to feel the burn of running with the Indigenous Marathon Foundation under four-time Olympic great Rob de Castella.

Considering the Far North Queenslander spent a playing career out of smashing and driving rivals to the ground, the mother-of-one to a large degree had to self-coach through isolation on the road in between a number of extra Zoom calls during the peak of the pandemic.

The proud woman of the Samep Tribe on Erub Island in the most Eastern part of the Torres Strait Islands explained the program has been a life-changing experience.

"I feel like this is just the start of something," Cook-Black said.

"Being a First Nations women, you can sometimes feel quite invisible.

"So being part of this program has been something that is really special.

"From our very first session where we looked at coaching girls and just to know that we were part of an Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program specifically designed by the AOC, I felt really seen, heard and valued.

"That has then been amplified through every single session we have had throughout the program, and it has changed the way I see myself and value myself in sport."

Kim Eulenstein and Michael Faccin will provide swimming tuition that will look at producing the next Samantha Riley.

Eulenstein has already created waves ahead of taking a new plunge, but the proud Wiradjuri woman is especially looking forward to bringing a program to community to develop the next generation of Indigenous stars in the pool.

Eulenstein was a prolific surfer of local note on Sydney's north shore until she converted that passion to create a Girl Surf Network, managing a number of professional female surfers.

But a cultural calling has brought her home closer to her heart through a distinct proficiency inside far choppier waters.

"Growing up, I did not know any other Indigenous swimmers or coaches, I did not see that representation and I did not feel that connection growing up as an athlete," Eulenstein said.

"This program has really shone a light on Indigenous coaches, not only in my sport, but in a range of different sports.

"It is so important not only for us as coaches to be recognised, but for the next generation of Indigenous athletes to be able to have access to Indigenous coaches and support networks.

"To graduate, (it) feels amazing – it feels like we have been on this great journey together as coaches.

"To have the support from everyone, from the AOC, our governing bodies and all of the key stakeholders, it has been really special."

Proud Palawa man of Lutruwita, Keegan Popowski's passion for hockey has seen his path traverse from a player to a coach and now to coaching the coaches.

That has delivered Popowski from Tasmania to Queensland and all the way from Cairns down to Toowoomba.

The Hockey5s women's Australian head coach has come full circle to now graduate from the Olympics' Indigenous coaching program.

He shapes a path with Dawn Baira from the Torres Strait Islands and Territorians Shana-Ann Casimiro and Travis Carroll in the Indigenous hockey realm.

"We spoke a lot about how we can help the athlete, but I think what I am most excited about is being able to go back and help develop the next group of Indigenous coaches," Popowski said.

"To provide that support and grow our network of coaches would be amazing, and if we are able to build on that network of Indigenous coaches, hopefully that then leads to even more Indigenous athletes in the future."

Coaches Benjamin Catley and Simone Carré hold great responsibility of carrying the Indigenous athletics' legacy.

Catley, a proud Bardi man of the Kimberley region, was first born in Victoria on Boonwurrung Country, but has been a First Nations athletics role model in the wider community of the south-west in Western Australia.

While still competing in sprinting, hurdles and the decathlon, Catley undertook level one and level two coaching, but only after battling personal injury in 2015 did he settle on focusing tutoring others.

Catley has led a number of West Australian athletes to medals at national titles and a partnership with junior athletes has produced several milestones, notably for coaching a Sophie Williams to a new under-16 heptathlon mark, breaking a past Olympian's 33 year-old Australian record.

"I have enjoyed this program so much as I've gotten to meet amazing Australian Olympians and have made some great connections with the coaches in this program," he told Athletics West last month.

"For the first part of the program, we got to meet each other and take community students through a sports lesson, yarn about our experiences in sports and how it's important for younger kids to participate and feel like they belong."