Gevaert: Göteborg's 'little princess' seeking two crowns | 06.08.2006

Kim Gevaert walked somewhat warily into the large rococo conference room in Göteborg's Börsen, or City Hall, this morning. A feint, perhaps slightly nervous smile played on her lips as she surveyed the assembled press and television cameras. The Audrey Hepburn of the track was getting the Hollywood star treatment, as befits the favourite for the women's sprint double at the European Athletics Championships.

And Gevaert is well aware of the pressure of expectations on her, both internationally and at home: Belgium has been without a European Athletics Championships gold medallist since 1971.

After three national records already this year, Gevaert tops the European rankings at both 100m and 200m with 11.04 and 22.20, the former time stripping 0.08 off her previous best, a performance even her own coach, Rudi Diels, described at the time as "sensational".

Her 200m performance ranks as the second best in the world this year, and presents the possibility that the Belgian, who celebrated her 28th birthday on Saturday, could become the first woman to complete the European sprint double since Irina Privalova in 1994.

"I want to try to win both," Gevaert said today, "because I always try to compete for the medals.

"I'm looking forward to it, I always enjoy the Europeans. It's a bit of a relief to be competing here, because the qualifying rounds are not quite so demanding as at the World Championships or Olympics, where there are always so many women around the same level.

"I have been running a bit better at the 100 this season, but just because I've been feeling better at that distance doesn't mean I don't believe in my 200, so I think I have a good chance of winning both.

"But I do hope there might be one round less in the 200 - in Munich four years ago there were only three rounds of the 200, and there might not be enough entries here to need four rounds. Four rounds will be tough, especially as there will be no rest day between the 100 and 200."

Gevaert's potentially gruelling campaign will begin on Tuesday morning, with the first round of the 100m. Come Wednesday night's final, her biggest threat may come from Russia's Yuliya Gushchina (with a 11.13 clocking to her name this season) - "the Russian athletes are very good", Gevaert said - while the entry also includes the Olympic champion from Belarus, Yuliya Nesterenko.

"It's been a strange year for European sprints. In 2004, there were so many Europeans running fast times, but this year so many are injured, it makes things very open," Gevaert noted.

After her brace of silver medals in Munich four years ago, Gevaert clearly possesses the ability to perform outstandingly well in both sprints, prompting one local journalist to enquire as to whether double gold here would make her the "Queen of Göteborg".

Gevaert, clearly embarrassed, laughed. "Oh no," she said. "Carolina and Kajsa are the queens of Göteborg," referring to Swedish stars Kluft and Bergqvist.

"Perhaps if I win two gold medals, maybe I could be a little princess."