The Electronic Telegraph
Wednesday 30 May 2001
Tom Knight
THE mystery surrounding the whereabouts of France's Marie-Jose Perec
deepened further yesterday when the country's sports minister pleaded with
the temperamental runner to return home.
Perec, the triple Olympic champion whose erratic behaviour has earned her
the title of the Greta Garbo of athletics, has not appeared in public since
she fled from Sydney, only days before her scheduled race with Australia's
Cathy Freeman in the Olympic 400 metres.
It is believed Perec may be living in her native Guadeloupe but no one close
to the enigmatic runner has admitted to knowing where she is.
The French federation claimed to have heard through a third party that Perec
was "in a place where she can live peacefully without being aggressed".
But Wolfgang Meier, the German who coached her last year and fully expected
to work with her again, has been left wondering if she will ever run again.
Marie-George Buffet, the French Minister for Sport, appealed to Perec on
national television. "Marie-Jose has to tell us simply if she wants to
continue or if she wants to stop," she said. "It's her right and I think
that everyone respects that.
"No one blames her for anything. I hope that she finds pleasure once again
on an athletics track. But even if she doesn't want to return to the track,
we would welcome her with open arms."
Meanwhile, Irina Privalova, Russia's Olympic 400m hurdles champion, will
miss this summer's World Championships in Edmonton after undergoing knee
surgery. Her husband and coach, Vladimir Parashchuk, said: "Irina will be on
crutches for about two weeks and it will be about 10 months, at the
earliest, before she can resume serious training."
Eamonn Condon
www.RunnersGoal.com
