‘Calm’ Perec arrives in France

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Paris: French track star Marie-Jose Perec arrived back in France on Friday after fleeing the Sydney Olympic Games in tears saying a man had threatened her in her hotel.

She arrived at 6:20 am (04.20 GMT) on a flight from Singapore, where she and her companion were questioned by police following a scuffle with an Australian cameraman.

Fellow passengers leaving the plane told reporters that Perec, 32, had appeared calm during the flight but had waited in her seat while others disembarked.

Perec, who won the 400 metres title at the 1992 Barcelona Games and then scored a 200-400 metres double four years later in Atlanta, robbed the Games of what could have been one of the most exciting events by leaving suddenly on Thursday.

The Australian press was scathing about her diva-like departure before facing local favourite Cathy Freeman in an eagerly awaited 400 metres showdown.

The French press wavered between sympathy and scorn. The headline in the tabloid 'Le Parisien' was "The Broken Dream" and 'Liberation' wrote, "Perec's evasion - the whim of a star? Too much pressure? 'Le Figaro's' front page bluntly slammed "the sorry exit of Marie-Jose Perec".



(c) Reuters Limited.