Marie-José Pérec

Marie -José Pérec, Atlanta 1996

Marie -José Juliana Pérec ( born May 9, 1968 Basse -Terre, Guadeloupe ) is a French former track and field athlete who represented absolute world class, especially in the long sprint in the 1990s.

Career

Pérec won a total of three gold medals at the Olympic Games: 1992 Barcelona 400 m and 1996 Atlanta 200 m and 400 m. She was thus the first athlete succeeded twice a victory over the 400 m. They also won on their special route twice (1991 in Tokyo and 1995 in Gothenburg ) the title of World Champion and 1994 in Helsinki, the European champion over 400 meters and with the French relay 4 x 400 m.

For many years Pérec was about 400 meters main competitor of Deutsche Grit Breuer, she could however defeat at major events usually. After 1996, she could only participate in a few races due to various injuries and illnesses. So they had to cancel for example, participation in the World Championships in 1997 and 1999.

At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney their duel over 400 m to the Australian folk hero Cathy Freeman should be one of the highlights of the competitions. That did not happen: The French felt harassed and persecuted by the Australian press and traveled thus prematurely together with her ​​former partner Anthuan from Maybank. In 2004, Pérec their resignation. In March 2010, she became the mother of a son; Father is the former freestyle skier Sébastien Foucras.

Pérec is 1,80 m tall and weighed about 60 kg competition times. Their coaches included, among other things, Marita Koch's coach and husband Wolfgang Meier and the American John Smith, both of which have been associated with doping.

1992 and 1996 Pérec of the sports newspaper L' Équipe France's Sportswoman of the Year ( " champion of champions" ) was chosen.

Bests outdoors

Awards

On November 14, 2013 Marie -José Pérec was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the World Association of Athletics Federations ( IAAF).