Muriel Hurtis of France sets the best qualifying time in the 200m (© Getty Images)
Before the Paris World Championships started, the French women Christine Arron and Muriel Hurtis didn’t hide their high ambitions of winning gold – or at least a silver or bronze medal – in their respective individual events: the 100 and the 200 metres.
A week later and none of France’s golden girls has been able to collect any honour let alone the World title.
Arron had to content with 6th in the 100m final with a poor 11.06, while Muriel Hurtis missed the 200m podium by just 12 hundredths of a second as she came 4th in 22.59.
“We have put our individual disappointments behind us,” said Arron. “We are now 100% focused on the relay.”
And one could tell that the French quartet wasn’t going to take things easy in tonight’s opening round as they lined up their premier squad of hurdler Patricia Girard, Hurtis, former World junior champion Sylviane Felix and Arron. The same squad which will compete in today's finals.
Girard took an excellent start and under the loud support of the 50,000 plus crowd handed the baton to Hurtis and Co. for what would be a national record 42.04 race.
“We have run very fast and this is a good thing,” commented Arron. We haven’t run as fast as we could though. We all have kept a little bit of fuel in the tank.
“We have taken very safe exchanges today and we might have to take a few more risks. But we won’t take any inconsiderate risks though because what is the point if the baton doesn’t make it to the line?”
The French 4x100m women’s relay have an excellent recent history in major championships, and we certainly all remember Christine Arron amazing anchor leg at the 1998 European Championships.
Two years ago in Edmonton, the French girls came in third behind the USA and Germany. But this year, they will certainly aim at a better result.
“I think it will be a USA versus France race tomorrow,” said Hurtis 24 hours after her 200m final. “Surprisingly I didn’t feel any pain from last night’s final today and hopefully tomorrow I will feel even better for the final.”
And the United States have proved on the track that they will be in for the gold medal,s as a fresh squad of Angela Williams, Chryste Gaines, Inger Miller and Lauryn Williams (none of the four was entered in any individual event in these championships) clocked a world leading time of 42.03.
It will certainly be a different story tomorrow when the USA’s faster girls will step up on the track.
The heats of the 4x100m race marked the end of the 2003 World championships for Merlene Ottey who aged 43 ran her first international relay with her new team-mates of Slovenia.
“It didn’t work out today, we had problems with our exchanges,” said Ottey after her race. “But I am still having fun. So let us just wait and see what our team can do next year.”
And it was also the end of Carolina Kluft’s championships today. And what a championships it has been. Kluft, who won the Heptathlon world title in a new personal best of 7001 points decided not to take part in the individual Long Jump competition in order to concentrate on her 4x100m relay.
Unfortunately Jenny Kallur and Jenny Ljunggren messed up their exchange when chasing back in third behind France and that was the end.
IAAF
