Perec, Marie-Jose

▪ 1997

      Sprinter Michael Johnson of the U.S. was not the only Olympic athlete to claim the rare double victory in the long sprints, the 200-m and 400-m races, at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Ga.; he was not even the first. On August 1, minutes before Johnson raced, French speedster Marie-José Pérec accomplished the feat first, outkicking Merlene Ottey of Jamaica in the last 10 m of the 200-m dash to win in 22.12 sec. Three days earlier Pérec had set an Olympic record with the third fastest 400-m race ever run by a woman (48.25 sec), surging past Cathy Freeman of Australia in the homestretch to successfully defend her 1992 Olympic title and become the first athlete ever to log consecutive 400-m Olympic wins.

      Pérec was born on May 9, 1968, on the West Indian island of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe, an overseas administrative district of France. In 1984 she was recruited by a visiting French coach, who took her to the mainland, where she placed second in the 200-m dash at the French junior championships. In 1988, at 20 years of age, she set her first national record in the 400 m (51.35 sec) and made her Olympic debut in Seoul, S.Kor., advancing to the quarterfinals of the 200 m. In 1991 Pérec broke 11 seconds in the 100 m and 50 seconds in the 400 m, initiating a legacy of dominance in the latter event with victories at the world championships (1991, 1995) and the Olympic Games (1992, 1996).

      Called "La Gazelle" by the French media, the lithe and leggy sprinter stood 180 cm (5 ft 10 in) tall, weighed 60 kg (130 lb), and had a stride covering 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Since 1992 she had been the highest-ranked 400-m runner in the world, except in 1993, when, over the objections of her coach, Jacques Piasenta, she focused instead on the 200 m, clocking a personal best of 21.99 sec. The following spring, in part to avoid the pressures of her celebrity in France, she left Piasenta to train in California under U.S. coach John Smith, enlarging her repertoire with the 400-m hurdles. In that event she beat world-record holder Kim Batten of the U.S. in all three of their competitions in 1995. (TOM MICHAEL)

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▪ French athlete

born May 9, 1968, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe

 

 French athlete who was the first sprinter to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 400-metre dash.

      Pérec grew up on the West Indian island of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe, an overseas administrative district of France. In 1984 she was recruited by a visiting French coach who took her to the mainland, where she placed second in the 200-metre dash at the French junior championships. In 1988, at age 20, she set her first national record in the 400 metres (51.35 seconds) and made her Olympic debut in Seoul, South Korea, where she advanced to the quarterfinals of the 200 metres. In 1991 Pérec broke 11 seconds in the 100 metres and 50 seconds in the 400 metres, and over the next several years she dominated the latter event. She won the 400 metres at the 1991 and 1995 world championships, and at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, she captured her first medal, winning the gold in that event. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, she accomplished the rare feat of winning both the 200-metre and 400-metre dashes and became the first sprinter to defend her Olympic title in the 400 metres.

      Pérec, who stood 5 feet 10 inches (180 cm) tall and had a stride covering 8.2 feet (2.5 metres), earned the nickname “La Gazelle” from the French media. From 1992 to 1996 she was the highest-ranked 400-metre runner in the world, except in 1993 when, over the objections of her coach, she focused on the 200 metres, clocking a personal best of 21.99 seconds. Following the 1996 season, however, she was plagued by numerous injuries. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, she hoped to make a comeback but abruptly withdrew from the Games shortly before she was to compete.

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