Ottey may be in the game in Beijing — at age 48
Thank God for Slovenia. If not for this central European nation, Merlene Ottey’s latest Olympic hopes would be moot. Apparently, she’s still a superstar on that country’s tracks. But would she still be good to go for Beijing at age 48? If not, we’d still have other “supervets” to cheer for. One might be Russia’s Irina Privalova, who is focusing on an Olympic sprint comeback at age 39. But sad news: M35 superstar Allen Johnson may retire from the hurdle wars after 2008.
Anyhoo, here’s a story on the Russian:
38-year-old Russian Sprint star, Irina Privalova, has announced her plan to qualify for Beijing next year.
The World Indoor 60m and 300m record holder plans to focus on the 100m distance for Beijing, while also competing in indoor races at 60m. Privalova took the 100m bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, and now, 16 years on, she is fairly confident that she is in good enough condition to be a challenge again,
“I’m in full preparation, no health problems, but we will see depending on my results how realistic my plans are.”
At 39-years-old, Privalova would still have a nine year advantage over Slovenia’s Sprinting Super-Vet, Merlene Ottey, who has also not ruled out an appearance in Beijing, a feat that would mark the incredible Slovenian’s 8th Olympic Games!
After a disappointing run in Osaka that saw Ottey narrowly miss out on qualification from the first round heats of the 100m, Ottey is not planning an indoor season, but this living testament to the endurance and strength of the human body is still talking positively about her Summer race prospects.
