Athletics Canada and Poor Choices

Who's the top track star?

By JAMES CHRISTIE

Wheelchair race queen Chantal Petitclerc can get around a track or a race course faster than any woman on the planet. What the Montreal athlete can't get around, however, is what she considers Athletics Canada's low regard for her gold medals and world records.

Ms. Petitclerc first declined, then reluctantly accepted, a share of the annual honour as Canada's top track and field athlete Thursday night, along with hurdler Perdita Felicien of Pickering, Ont.

Ms. Petitclerc, 34, was a star at the Paralympic Games in Athens with five gold medals and three world records. And, while wheelchair races are not officially on the program of the Olympic Games, Ms. Petitclerc won gold in an Olympic demonstration race before a roaring crowd of 70,000. It was the only time O Canada was played in Athens Olympic Stadium.

Ms. Felicien, who suffered a stunning crash at the Athens Olympics, failed to win a medal. She had won a world indoor hurdles title in the 60-metre event to go with the 100-metre hurdles outdoor crown she won in 2003. She was the top-ranked favourite going into the Olympic final, but fell at the first barrier in Athens and hasn't been able to hurdle since because of injury.

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