7 July 2000 – Nice – In sixteen years of competition, the French athlete Marie-José Pérec has done many extraordinary things, the most significant of which are her two consecutive Olympic titles in the 400m (1992 and 1996) and her success, also in Atlanta 96, in the 200m, equalling what was until that time, a record of the American Valerie Brisco-Hooks.
Now 32 years old, Marie-José doesn’t feel that she should put an end to her athletic ambitions, despite a dangerous virus that, between the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1999, seriously damaged her health.
Tomorrow, she will once again be on the track, in the 400m, at the IAAF Grand Prix in Nice.
This is a true debut over the distance, when one considers that her last outing at 400m was at the 1996 Olympics. But Perec showed us in Lausanne just a couple of days ago that she is well on the path to a full recovery, running the 200m in 22.71.
There is no doubt that the rigid training regime imposed on her in the past months by Hermann Meier, the husband of Marita Koch, has played a major role. Thus it is that today, Marie-Jose can face a difficult test, against adversaries who are among the best in the world: Olabisi Afolabi (NGR), Lorriane Graham (JAM), Katharine Merry (GBR) and Charity Opara (NGR).
At the same time as Perec makes her debut, another athlete will returns to the one lap race after a year’s break: Anthuan Maybank, Marie-José Pérec’s training partner and companion.
Maybank is an athlete of great talent, an excellent long jumper also, who won an Olympic gold medal in the 4x400m relay in Atlanta. Maybank’s personal record is 44.15 and his race in Nice will obviously give him some idea of what to expect in the US Olympic Trials, which start in Sacramento on 14 July.
The Nice meeting will be a significant staging point for many great athletes, on their way to a return to the Olympic stage. Among them, Donovan Bailey, the 100m champion in Atlanta and past world record holder, who is still trying to find his form after his Achilles tendon operation.