Marie-José Pérec (born 9 May 1968 Basse-Terre

Basse-Terre

Basse-Terre is the prefecture of Guadeloupe, an overseas region and department of France located in the Lesser Antilles...

, Guadeloupe) is a French athlete, specialised in the 200 and 400 m, and a triple Olympic champion.

Pérec was World Champion in the 400 m in Tokyo

1991 World Championships in Athletics

The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...

 and 400m champion at the Barcelona

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

 Olympics. Four years later she entered in the 200 m at the Olympics in Atlanta

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 winning both events, achieving the 200/400 m double gold medal. She won the 400 m in the Olympic record time of 48.25 seconds.

In addition to the Olympic and World titles, Pérec also won the European Championship 400 m individual and 4x400 m relay titles in Helsinki

1994 European Championships in Athletics

The 16th European Athletics Championships were held from 7 August to 14 August 1994 in the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki, Finland.-Track:1986 |1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |-Field:1986 |1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |-Track:1986 |1990 |1994 |1998 |2002 |-Field:...

 in 1994.

The 1996 two Olympic titles were Pérec's last international titles. She did not compete in the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney. She claimed to have been harassed by the Australian press since her arrival in Sydney.

Marie-José Pérec gave birth to her first baby, her son, on 30 March 2010.

She is today a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club
, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport

Peace and Sport

Peace and Sport, "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport” is a neutral and apolitical international initiative based in the Principality of Monaco and placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco....

, a Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

-based international organization.

Personal bests

Event	Time (seconds)	Wind (m/s)	Date	Venue	All-time ranking
100 m	10.96	+1.2	27 July 1991	Dijon Dijon Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area.... , France	43rd (15th)
200 m	21.99 (FR)	+1.1	2 July 1993	Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France	21st (9th)
400 m	48.25 (FR), (OR)		29 July 1996	Atlanta, Georgia	3rd (3rd)
400 m hurdles	53.21 (FR)		16 August 1995	Zurich Zürich Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich... , Switzerland	20th (6th)

• Rankings outside the brackets are world rankings.
• Rankings inside the brackets are European.
• FR = French record
• OR = Olympic record

External links

• BBC Sport 21 September 2000:Perec out of Olympics: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics2000/athletics-track/934839.stm