A portrait of Perdita Felicien of Canada (© Getty Images)
Almost three months after her spectacular crash in the Olympic 100m Hurdles final, Canada’s Perdita Felicien has returned to training and is now aiming to reestablishing herself as the world’s premier female sprint hurdler.
The 24 year old is at last comfortable talking about the incident which left her a sobbing mess and compelled her to issue an apology to a disappointed nation but she is also focused on defending her World Championship title in Helsinki next summer.
Facing up to Athens
”I am not tormenting myself over Athens. I mean Athens was definitely the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my career. I am not dwelling on it, but I have heard so much different analysis on what happened,” she says over the telephone from her apartment in Champagne, Illinois.
“Personally, I believe I got a really good start. I got a great start, I have never felt that powerful before. I have never felt my body do that like that night. I just think I wasn’t ready for such a quick start. I was not used to that kind of speed.”
”It is sport. When I signed up for this I knew there would be disappointments I knew I was not always going to win. That’s the nature of sport. Your goal is to win when it really counts and there are going to be other Olympics in me. I know that without a doubt. There's going to be World Championships, Commonwealth Games and other major championships, and that moment is gone and I can't dwell on it.”
”Am I still talented? Yes. Do I still believe in myself? Yes. Am I going to come back and prove to everybody else I can do what I did last year again? Yes, I will. I won two World Championships, I keep reminding myself I am capable of winning again.”
Olympic injury legacy
At the moment Felicien is still nursing the injury which resulted from the fall, a deep bone bruise in her left heel. Instead of leaving Athens in haste she remained to take treatment from Canadian team doctors although she was on crutches and, sometimes used a wheelchair to get about.
And rather than mope in her disappointment she even went to the Olympic stadium to watch the competition and shake herself out of the doldrums. It was one night in particular that inspired her, making her realise she could bounce back and keep alive her dream of one day being an Olympic champion.
Inspired by Hicham
”I remember seeing Hicham El Guerrouj win his second race, I was sitting in the stands, It was the (5000m) race with Kenenisa (Bekele), and I was thinking, ‘my goodness I want my moment back’. It was so symbolic to me to see Hicham win like that,” she recalls. “It kind of struck a nerve with me because he didn’t win (Olympic gold medals) two times before that. I felt that was just a huge message for me. So every day I went to the track I was seeing people win and thinking ‘I want my moment.’ But with Hicham, I felt ‘if he can do it I can’. “
The injury meant she was unable to compete in the post Olympic Golden League meetings. Rehabilitation followed but more importantly, for the first time in three years Felicien found time for herself.
She flew to Mexico where she went snorkelling and kayaking in the Caribbean. She went hiking in the forests of British Columbia where she saw black bears in the wild. All this helped restore her extremely positive mental state. And she is also preparing to ditch her ten speed bicycle and purchase her first car. Overall the time off has had an impact on her outlook.
Defending what “belongs to her”
”I am a lot more motivated, a lot more hungry and now I think Helsinki is going to be so important because it is the first major championships since Athens and I am going to have to defend a title that belongs to me,” she reveals. “The only lesson I can gain from this is to continue to be hungry. Before this happened before I got to Athens this dream, this wanting to be the best in track and field, was believing this was so fragile. Now I am cherishing my status and my being able to do something that I love.”
Felicien won’t be duped into naming those she expects to stand between her and a successful title defence. She claims that anyone is capable of winning on a particular day and warns that there may be other athletes who are yet ‘untested’ on the international stage.
Hayes - A formidable opponent
One thing is certain, the woman who claimed the gold that most observers believed had Felicien’s name on it will be a formidable opponent. Joanna Hayes lowered her personal best from 12.50 seconds to an Olympic record of 12.37 seconds while Felicien lay prostrate on the track. The Canadian understands why people were so astonished by Hayes’ performance.
”I guess you could say the same thing about me in Paris I PR’d huge in Paris. I came to the University of Illinois with a PR (personal record) of 13.36 and then eight months later I was running 12.91 seconds,” she recalls. “So I don’t know what to make of her performance. It’s a big meet , there’s a lot on the line, so it is definitely possible to run huge PR’s.”
In or out of the media spotlight next year?
Hayes will likely have the bulk of the attention as Helsinki approaches. After two years where she felt the intense scrutiny of the international media, Felicien thinks this will also be of help.
”That’s an interesting perspective. I think I am going to have some pressure in Helsinki because, one, everyone is going to want to know how I am going to do there and, two, because I am the defending champion. A lot of eyes I know are going to be on me because of what has happened and how am I going to recover from that. Everyone wants that question answered.”
”Of course there will be eyes on Joanna Hayes and she is the Olympic champion and it doesn't get any better than that. So I guess you are right, it somehow a shared thing some kind of shared pressure. At the same time I don’t mind it, I think its great. My whole focus next year is getting some vindication for what happened in Athens for my own personal self. I am not trying to chase names I am going out there trying to reach my own potential, whatever it is.”
Paul Gains for the IAAF