Freeman's 20th successive 400m win
2 June 1998Cathy Freeman is feeling like a world champion again after notching her 20th consecutive 400m victory in the fastest time she's ever run at the start of an international season. Competing in the Prefontaine Classic grand prix meeting in Eugene, Oregon, Freeman outpaced a field which included Nigeria's Olympic 400m bronze medallist Falilat Ogunkoya and American world championship bronze medallist Jearl Miles to win the 400m in 50.02 seconds.
Ogunkoya was second in 50.19s while Lorraine Graham, of Jamaica, took third in 50.85s.
Two hours after the race, following an ice bath and a hot shower, Freeman's mind was still racing with the excitement of knowing she was back to her best for the start of a long international campaign that will take her to the European grand prix circuit, the World Cup in South Africa and the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.
Freeman's timely return to world-class form follows two months of sprint-orientated, warm-weather training in Austin, Texas. Freeman escaped to Texas after a mediocre domestic season that had left her frayed and distracted. The public commitments that came with being named Australian of the Year, along with becoming engaged to US-based Nike executive Sandy Bodecker, meant training had become a low priority for Freeman during her hectic summer. But moving away from the limelight to Texas, where she was just another athlete, helped focus her mind on the job that has made her a national identity.
As ever, Freeman ran only fast enough to secure victory on Sunday and admitted afterwards she could have finished half a second faster if pushed. "I am relieved, because in Australia during the domestic season I was nowhere near the athlete I am supposed to be," Freeman said from Eugene. "I am fitter now than when I won the world title in Athens last year and I feel like a world champion again. At the 150m mark I was thinking to myself how surprisingly good I felt. It shows I am moving in the right direction and my time is very good heading into Europe."
Sitting in the stands watching Freeman race was her great rival and Olympic 400m champion Marie-Jose Perec, who has been shadowing Freeman for months. Perec watched Freeman race in Melbourne in February, in Texas last month and again on Sunday. "I don't think Perec is following her, but you could be excused for thinking that," Freeman's coach Nick Bideau said. "Every time she runs, Perec is there watching." Bideau said the chances of Perec and Freeman clashing on the Europe circuit over the next few months were slim as Perec had announced her intention to contest the 100m and 200m rather than her signature race. Perec and Freeman have not raced head-to-head for two years now, with their last clash being in Brussels after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Perec won gold and Freeman silver at the Olympics but the placings were reversed in Brussels. Since then the two have only met off the track.
Following her confidence-boosting victory, Freeman flies to her London base today for another three weeks of training before her first race in Europe.
