27 August interviews
- Stéphane Buckland (Mauritius) - winner of the third quarter final of the 200m in 20"06, new national record.
"I had a good lane and strong opponents. Despite a slow start, I broke my previous record of 20"15. The next goal is now to go below the 20 seconds barrier. I want to dedicate this record to my coach Hervé Stéphan. Last autumn, my country didn't really want me to come back and train in Mauritius. They wanted me to stay in Dakar. My performance of today shows that one can have a good level while preparing in Mauritius".
- Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) - 1500m world champion in 3'31"77.
" It's the happiest day of my life. Today, everybody was against me, all the public supported Mehdi [Baala]. When I saw the Spanish Reyes Esteves take the lead, I said to myself "What is he doing?". I first stayed in the pack as I wanted Mehdi to wonder "Where is Hicham?". I had planned to sharpen the pace after 900m and then again in the last lap. I was 100% fit, but I doubted a bit psychollogically. There were 60000 spectators shouting MEHDI, so I felt I didn't even exist. I was afraid of hustling, that's why it was fortunate that Reyes Esteves upped the pace".
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