The Electronic Telegraph Saturday 2 June 2001 Tom Knight DENISE LEWIS and Katharine Merry take their first, tentative steps on the road to winning gold at the World Championships by wearing the black vest of Birchfield Harriers in today's men and women's combined league match at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Lewis, competing for the first time since she became the Olympic heptathlon champion in Sydney, is taking part in only two events, the 100 metres hurdles and the shot put. Her modest ambition is to win maximum points for her club. In contrast, Eunice Barber, France's world champion and her biggest rival for gold at this summer's championships in Canada, posted an impressive score to beat a world-class heptathlon field at last weekend's multi-events meeting in Gotzis, Austria. Lewis's coach, Charles van Commenee, says she is progressing well after taking a long break after Sydney. He said: "Every day she gets better. The hurdles and shot are areas Denise has been working on, so this will be a useful guide." Merry, meanwhile, will anchor Birchfield's 4 x 400m relay team, before making her season's debut proper over one lap in Milan on Wednesday. The confident Olympic bronze medallist said: "I wish Cathy Freeman was running this year because you always want to compete against the best in the world." Eamonn Condon www.RunnersGoal.com
