Chased out of Sydney, could Cathy Freeman’s great rival light the Olympic cauldron?

Paris: French Olympic legend Marie-José Pérec caused a media storm that saw journalists chase her across the world when she suddenly decamped from the Sydney 2000 Olympics before facing Cathy Freeman on the track, never to run again.

More than two decades later, the enigmatic Pérec could make an Olympic comeback to light the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on Friday evening, Paris time, the first to be held outside a stadium.

Marie-Jose Perec leaves Sydney in a taxi prior to her scheduled race.Credit: Brendan Esposito

Event organisers are yet to formally announce who the final torchbearer will be but speculation about Pérec’s potential involvement ramped up earlier this week after French President Emmanuel Macron hinted at a possible appearance by the former track and field sprinter during a TV interview on Tuesday, Paris time.

Pressured by hosts of local television channel France 2 to reveal who would be entrusted to light the Olympic cauldron, Macron said there would be “great legends” present at the ceremony before gushing over Pérec.

“Our overseas territories still have a unique place ... It wouldn’t be bad if there was a last torchbearer from the Caribbean, right? ” Macron said in a possible reference to Guadeloupe, the French archipelago in the Caribbean that Pérec hails from.

The Age's coverage of Perec's departure during the Sydney OlympicsCredit: The Age

Macron fell short of confirming her involvement, telling the program he did not want to betray the trust of Paris 2024 boss Tony Estanguet.

“It’s Tony Estanguet who will say it in due time,” Macron said. “We have a relationship of trust, I will not betray his trust.”

A dual Olympic gold medallist with a famously graceful stride, Pérec defeated reigning Ukrainian champion Olha Bryzhina in the 400m at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 by almost two metres before outrunning Freeman at the next Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.

Shaping up to be the main obstacle standing between Freeman and Olympic gold on home soil in 2000, Pérec shocked Australia and the world when she decided to leave Sydney before running a heat, blaming relentless media and public harassment for her decision.

The former athlete wrote on her website at the time that she felt like a hostage in her own accommodation and had been forced to train in secret since her arrival in Australia due to the intense media scrutiny. Pérec was also chased through Sydney airport and threatened by a man in her hotel room.

“The 400m in Sydney was not a race against Cathy Freeman, it was a race against an entire nation which had its problems,” Pérec later said. “I was only prepared for a 400m.”

Since her departure from the competitive sport, Pérec has been involved in programs supporting young athletes, diplomacy through sport, and athletics in her native Guadeloupe. In 2019, she also appeared in the French version of the talent show Masked Singer where she performed a rendition of Stromae’s Papaoutai and Angèle’s Balance ton quoi.

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