World championships
Paris 2003 23-31 August

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Interviews du 25 août
  • Mireille Nguimgo (Cameroon) - The first to be eliminated for the 400m final with 51"19 and a third place in her semi-final.

    "I'm disappointed because I was very close to qualify. I prepared very well for this competition. I have a very good coach, Fernand Urtebise who did all he could toward this aim. I got flu a few days ago, but I recovered well. I really fought in the homestraight because, until the end, I believed in my chances to qualify".

  • Jacques Freitag (South Africa) - Winner of the high jump with 2,35m

    "I did not have a good start at all. We had a really tough qualifying and my legs were kind of numb. Then I slowly began to find my rhythm and it all came together for me.
    After the first few jumps I could ease up a little because I knew I could jump 2.35m so I was not scared of anything.
    I had to be careful because I hurt my back in Helsinki not long ago and sort of pulled the same muscle again on my last jump clearing 2.35m. That is the reason I did not continue even though I felt there was more left in me. I also did not want to ruin my chances of competing at the World Athletic Final.

    I'm frankly very happy and there isn't much else to say. I really jump for the fun and here I am rewarded. I've had a lot of problems with injuries in the last few years. After Edmonton I had put on too much weight. I was up around to 100kg. The result was that my ankle couldn't take it In fact it was in terrible shape, but my Finnish surgeon, who also worked with Bubka, operated me and did a fantastic job. So I got back into training, concentrating on losing weight and there's the result".