Felicien relishes new role of underdog
Former world champ pumped over chance to compete in TorontoJun 03, 2009
RANDY STARKMAN
SPORTS REPORTER
SPORTS REPORTER
Perdita Felicien's mom has butterflies.
That can only mean one thing – there's a big track meet on the way.
It turns out Felicien's not the only one excited about her first chance to compete in Toronto as a pro in the Festival of Excellence meet at Varsity Stadium, headlined by Jamaican star Usain Bolt on June 11.
The last time the former world champion hurdler ran in a big meet in the GTA was in elementary school.
"It's been that long," said Felicien. "My mom was talking to me. She said, `I really have the butterflies.' I said, `Mom, we have two weeks to go. You can't be having the butterflies yet. You've gotta relax.' But she gets extremely nervous when I compete. She hasn't really been on site in so long."
This is a comeback season for the 28-year-old Felicien, who missed the Beijing Olympics last summer because of a foot injury.
The Pickering native will face Whitby rival Priscilla Lopes-Schliep in the "Durham Duel" for first place in the women's 100-metre hurdles. The favourite has got to be Lopes-Schliep, the Olympic bronze medallist who has the world-leading time this year of 12.52 seconds.
Felicien's best time of 12.80 seconds ties her for eighth among hurdlers this season. She clearly relishes the underdog role right now.
"I like pressure. I feel like I can thrive under pressure," she said. "I can handle it well, but I am finding my need to be the underdog and not being the favourite and having the expectations.
"I need to focus on what I need to do. There's no doubt in my mind that I can rise to any occasion. I just need to be fit first and I just need to be at my maximum. I'm not there yet, but I'm well on way to being there."
Felicien plans to be there at the Canadian championships, also to be held at Varsity Stadium, at the end of the month. She'll use that as a launching pad towards the world championships in Berlin Aug. 15-23. She reckons she's presently at 75 to 80 per cent of her potential.
Felicien was not among the main contenders at the last worlds in Osaka, Japan, two years ago, but surprised with a silver-medal finish. That set her up as a contender for the Beijing Games, until she was felled by her foot injury.
The foot is now healed. She has to do a lot of maintenance, but that seems a small price considering there'd been concerns she could end up with chronic tendinitis, chronic pain or early onset of arthritis.
"At this point, I feel like I did before the injury happened as far as my physical capabilities," she said.
On the mental side, Felicien finds herself delving back into the book The Pursuit of Excellence by Dr. Terry Orlick, something she read a lot when she won the world title in Paris in 2003.
"You kind of forget how you got there," she said. "You're not as sharp. You don't do the little things you did before. I'm finding, `Let's revisit some of that, let's figure out some of the things we did before and get back to that.'"
She recognizes that the mental preparation for the Festival of Excellence will be a bit different because it's at home. She normally associates being in Toronto as a time to relax with family and friends, but this time it's all business.
"In my mind, I've got to flip the switch and go, `This is not a mini vacation. This is not time for you to just chill out and relax. You still have a job to do,'" she said. "So three or four days preparing for Excellence has to have the same focus and commitment that you have for a Golden League race in Europe."
She's already got tickets for her family at the finish line. Whether her mother, Cathy Moe, can bear to watch is another matter.
Tickets for the event can be bought at ticketbreak.com.
That can only mean one thing – there's a big track meet on the way.
It turns out Felicien's not the only one excited about her first chance to compete in Toronto as a pro in the Festival of Excellence meet at Varsity Stadium, headlined by Jamaican star Usain Bolt on June 11.
The last time the former world champion hurdler ran in a big meet in the GTA was in elementary school.
"It's been that long," said Felicien. "My mom was talking to me. She said, `I really have the butterflies.' I said, `Mom, we have two weeks to go. You can't be having the butterflies yet. You've gotta relax.' But she gets extremely nervous when I compete. She hasn't really been on site in so long."
This is a comeback season for the 28-year-old Felicien, who missed the Beijing Olympics last summer because of a foot injury.
The Pickering native will face Whitby rival Priscilla Lopes-Schliep in the "Durham Duel" for first place in the women's 100-metre hurdles. The favourite has got to be Lopes-Schliep, the Olympic bronze medallist who has the world-leading time this year of 12.52 seconds.
Felicien's best time of 12.80 seconds ties her for eighth among hurdlers this season. She clearly relishes the underdog role right now.
"I like pressure. I feel like I can thrive under pressure," she said. "I can handle it well, but I am finding my need to be the underdog and not being the favourite and having the expectations.
"I need to focus on what I need to do. There's no doubt in my mind that I can rise to any occasion. I just need to be fit first and I just need to be at my maximum. I'm not there yet, but I'm well on way to being there."
Felicien plans to be there at the Canadian championships, also to be held at Varsity Stadium, at the end of the month. She'll use that as a launching pad towards the world championships in Berlin Aug. 15-23. She reckons she's presently at 75 to 80 per cent of her potential.
Felicien was not among the main contenders at the last worlds in Osaka, Japan, two years ago, but surprised with a silver-medal finish. That set her up as a contender for the Beijing Games, until she was felled by her foot injury.
The foot is now healed. She has to do a lot of maintenance, but that seems a small price considering there'd been concerns she could end up with chronic tendinitis, chronic pain or early onset of arthritis.
"At this point, I feel like I did before the injury happened as far as my physical capabilities," she said.
On the mental side, Felicien finds herself delving back into the book The Pursuit of Excellence by Dr. Terry Orlick, something she read a lot when she won the world title in Paris in 2003.
"You kind of forget how you got there," she said. "You're not as sharp. You don't do the little things you did before. I'm finding, `Let's revisit some of that, let's figure out some of the things we did before and get back to that.'"
She recognizes that the mental preparation for the Festival of Excellence will be a bit different because it's at home. She normally associates being in Toronto as a time to relax with family and friends, but this time it's all business.
"In my mind, I've got to flip the switch and go, `This is not a mini vacation. This is not time for you to just chill out and relax. You still have a job to do,'" she said. "So three or four days preparing for Excellence has to have the same focus and commitment that you have for a Golden League race in Europe."
She's already got tickets for her family at the finish line. Whether her mother, Cathy Moe, can bear to watch is another matter.
Tickets for the event can be bought at ticketbreak.com.
Source: www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/article/644537
