Marie-Jose Perec

Pérec was chosen as the L'Équipe Champion of Champions (France category) in 1992 and 1996 by the French sports daily, L'Équipe.

The two 1996 Olympic titles were Pérec's last international titles. On 22 September 2000, she pulled out of the 200 metres and 400 metres events of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, several days before they were due to begin. Pérec claimed that she had been threatened and insulted several times since arriving in Australia and that the Australian press, who were supporting Australian athlete Cathy Freeman, had been trying to sabotage her chances of winning the gold medal in the 400 metres.

Pérec enrolled in the top French business school ESSEC and graduated in 2007 with a Master's in Sports Management.

Pérec gave birth to her first child, a son named Nolan, on 30 March 2010. Pérec's partner Sébastien Foucras is the father of the child.

On 21 October 2012, Pérec was elected president of the Ligue Régionale d'Athlétisme de la Guadeloupe, the governing body for athletics in Guadeloupe.

On 9 October 2013, Pérec was awarded the Officier de la Légion d'honneur by French President François Hollande in the Élysée Palace. Just before presenting the insignia to Pérec during the award ceremony, Hollande described her as "one of the most brilliant athletes in the history of French athletics". Pérec had received the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1996.

On 16 November 2013, Pérec was inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame.

On this day: Born May 9, 1968: Marie-Jose Perec, French athlete

The greatest French athlete of all time, Marie-Jose Perec will be remembered for gracing the track with her elegant stride, but also for mysteriously walking away from her last Olympics.

Marie-Jose Perec: The brilliant French athlete - Kentake Page

Three-time Olympic gold medalist, Marie-José Pérec, is one of the greatest female sprinters of modern times. The French athlete, nicknamed “La Gazelle” on account of her graceful running style and speed around the track, was the first sprinter to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 400-metre dash. In 2013,...

Marie-Jose Perec: Born to run, born to rule | More sports News - Times of India

More sports News: Only the second athlete to win a 200m & 400m double at the Olympics in 1996, Marie-Jose Perec, now 47, comes across as an amazingly humble human b