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Perec keeps counsel ahead of showdown with Freeman
SYDNEY, Sept 14 (AFP) - France's reigning 200m and 400m Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec is refusing all media requests as she focuses on her impending 400m duel with Australian gold medal hope Cathy Freeman, her agent told AFP Thursday. The agent Annick Avierinos maintained that her policy of silence was so she could concentrate on her bid to win a gold medal in her third consecutive Olympics - as well as her Atlanta double she also won the 400m in Barcelona in 1992. "Marie-Jose is fine and is continuing her programme of preparation with Wolfgang Meier," said Avierinos, speaking from Paris. "She does not wish to get involved in any controversy. One week from competition, it's a period where she has always prioritised concentration and calm." Perec's unwillingness to share her thoughts with the world has angered the local press in Australia, perhaps fuelled by the fact that she remains the main obstacle to a gold medal for Aboriginal heroine Freeman. "I sense she is troubled by the reception she has received," said the agent. "She was not expecting it." Perec, who is only defending her title at the longer distance, enters the fray on September 22 and Avierinos said: "While waiting she passes her time reading, surfing her personal mailbox on the internet and talking to her nearest and dearest.
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