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News from the Caribbean as of
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Making the final would be good enough for me, says Guadeloupe-born athlete
Thursday, August 10, 2006
by Patrick Vignal
GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters): Defending European 200 metres champion, Guadeloupe-born Muriel Hurtis, struggling to recapture her best form after becoming a mother, said she would be happy just to make Friday's final.
The 27-year-old, who gave birth to a boy called Lehyan in March last year, stayed out of the sport for 11 months and is no longer among the frontrunners.
The fastest she could run this season was 23.22 seconds, far off her personal best 22.31.
"I don't know the names of all the girls who might be in the final, even if I see (Belgium's) Kim Gevaert as the favourite," she said.
"Personally, I will regard the championships as a success if I'm in the final."
Hurtis, once one of Europe's top sprinters and a member of France's gold-winning 4x100 relay at the 2003 world championships, said she did not expect the road back to the top would be so difficult.
"To be honest with you, I thought it would be easier and quicker but I'm not going to give up just because it's not going as fast as I had wished," said the elegant runner from Guadeloupe, whose partner is a popular rap artist known as K-Mel.
Hurtis, who has left the rough Paris suburb where she grew up to move to the French Riviera and live near her coach, Jacques Piasenta, said giving birth to a child had changed her perspective.
"Before, I used to collapse when problems arose," she said. "Athletics used to be all my life. Now I know that there are more important things. I'm more serene, more balanced."
The reserved Frenchwoman said she did not expect much from her 200 in Gothenburg but was definitely looking forward to the 4x100.
"I find the relay a lot easier at the moment," she said. "I'm happy to lend the other girls a hand. I don't ask myself any questions. I just run as fast as I can."
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