Ballymena and Antrim's Paul Brizzel wakes this morning to a Parisian skyline and one thing firmly in his mind ' Olympic qualification. Today's heats of the men's 200m provide the ideal opportunity for the man who equalled his 2000 100m national record of 10.35 at the Dublin International Games recently, to achieve the Athens standard and book a place in the evening's quarter-finals.
And he's not lacking in confidence. 'I've raced against three World record holders and I'm ready to take on anyone in the World right now. Both mentally and physically I feel a stronger athlete now,' he said recently.
A bout of food poisoning laid Brizzel low for part of the early season and that could work in his favour if there are some weary, end-of-season performances from his opponents in heat 2. If he can come through, it would be a victory not just for the Ulster man but for London-based coach Mick McFarlane, who Brizzel credits with 'changing my running style, building my confidence and putting speed into my legs.'
The 26-year-old has previous World experience but will not want to repeat his 1999 Seville experience of finishing fourth in his heat with 21.02. But it's fifth time lucky at a major championship for the 200m specialist as he has yet to qualify out of the first round in all his previous attempts. Over-hanging cameras or no over-hanging cameras, it's forgivable of the Frank Spencer of Irish sprinting if he chooses to dwell on progressing to Athens rather than the pain of his previous heat history.
