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Wednesday, September 20
Dueling 400s add spice in Sydney
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Michael Johnson, master of the men's
400 meters, looks at the women's race and finds himself just as
intrigued -- and confused -- as everyone else.
While Johnson is a clear favorite in the men's event, which he
has dominated for the past decade, the women's race is harder to
predict because defending champion Marie-Jose Perec has run only
one 400 in the past four years -- and she placed third in that race.
Australia's Cathy Freeman is the favorite, having won the last
two world championships at 400 meters and going into the Olympics
with a three-year winning streak. But Perec holds a 7-2 career mark
against Freeman in head-to-head races, including the 1996 Olympic
final.
Perec has been tormented by Epstein Barr syndrome, a rare virus
that causes chronic fatigue, and dropped out of three races this
summer in Europe that would have pitted her against Freeman.
Perec has refused to train with the French team and has been so
reclusive the Australian media have labeled her the "Greta Garbo
of athletics."
The French team asked Johnson to come to their training camp
outside Sydney, hoping that would encourage Perec to join them, but
she still refused. Johnson said he had no idea whether Perec will
be ready to run when the heats of the women's 400 start Friday.
"It's probably just as much a mystery to me as it is to
everybody else. I think it's making the women's 400 meters very
interesting," said Johnson, whose first-round race also is Friday
(Thursday night ET).
"We all know that (Perec) has got a tremendous amount of
talent. I think it puts Cathy in a very difficult position where
you don't know exactly what to expect. We know that she's got the
talent, we just don't know what kind of shape she's in because she
hasn't run a lot of races."
Johnson and Perec both swept the 200 and 400 races in Atlanta,
but neither will be defending the 200 title in Sydney -- Johnson
failed to qualify at that distance when he limped out of the 200
final at the U.S. trials.
But while Johnson has maintained his supremacy at 400 meters,
winning his fourth consecutive world championship in a world-record
43.18 seconds last year, Freeman has clearly surpassed Perec as the
top woman at that distance.
Freeman, who won silver at the 1996 Atlanta Games, has been
nearly unbeatable since then. Perec, who also captured gold in the
400 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and was the world champion at
that distance in 1991 and 1995, mostly has avoided the track.
Freeman said she can envision what it would be like to face
Perec, and six other women, in the 400 final on Monday.
"Your heart is racing. It feels like your heart is about to
jump out of your chest," she said. "There's this big jelly thing
full of color and noise that's going on around you and all I see is
my lane in front of me.
"It's something you only experience before an Olympic race,"
Freeman added. "You have to find the balance between being ready
to go and being at peace with yourself."
Johnson said he hopes to cap his Olympic career with another
400-meter gold medal and to lower the world record again. But he
fears his accomplishments may be overshadowed by the dueling divas
in the women's race.
"It's unfortunate that we're running right after they are,"
Johnson complained. "Probably nobody will want to watch our
race."
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