Fourie happy to let his performances do the talking in Lyon

The London 2012 bronze medallist is happy to keep out of media spotlight ahead of his 100m and 200m showdowns. 18 Jul 2013

London 2012 100m T44 bronze medallist Arnu Fourie

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“I’m not too worried about not being talked about in the rivalry. It would have been very easy to make one or two tweets about it and get into the mix, but I prefer to come from the place I’m coming from, to stay out of the media, and just go and do the stuff on the track."

After an injury hit season, South African Arnu Fourie cannot wait to get amongst the growing rivalry in the T44 class of sprinting at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, and is happy for his performances on the track do the talking.

The likeable and modest 28-year-old has watched from afar this year as Paralympic silver medallist Richard Browne of the USA has talked up his chances of breaking the 100m world record in Lyon, France and defeating Great Britain’s Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock.

Whilst the two have been positioned in the media as the two main contenders for the 100m world title, London 2012 bronze medallist Fourie has stayed out of the media spotlight. He is also extremely complimentary of his opponents.

“I’ve had a little bit of an up and down season up to now, but I’m looking forward to the rivalry that has been spoken about in the last couple of months,” said Fourie who finished fourth in the 100m at the 2011 World Championships.

“I’m not too worried about not being talked about in the rivalry. It would have been very easy to make one or two tweets about it and get into the mix, but I prefer to come from the place I’m coming from, to stay out of the media, and just go and do the stuff on the track.

“What Jonnie Peacock did in London as a 19-year-old guy coming into that stadium with everyone shouting ‘Peacock, Peacock,’ was amazing. He took all of it, embraced it and ran a phenomenal race. Since then he’s been running very good times.

“I’ve seen Richard saying he’s run quick times. This is awesome for the sport. I’m just excited at the way it’s moving after London and being talked about,” added Fourie.

Before lining up for the 100m early next week, Fourie will race in the 200m T44, the heats of which will take place on Saturday evening ahead of Sunday’s final. Up until last month when the USA’s David Prince ran 22.47 seconds, Fourie was the world record holder of the event.

“David broke my record a few weeks ago so the 200m will be a phenomenal challenge,” said Fourie whose previous record set at London 2012 was 22.49.

“I was little bit surprised when I saw him run the world record and the shape he is in and even what he did in London, coming back from his injury a few months before the Games, and winning a 400m medal.

“Since then he has come on leaps and bounds, so there is always that bit of ‘oh no, you’ve taken my world record away’ but there is also that excitement of ‘my word are we going to have a good race’.

“It’s the first year our class has been split and him running the world record just a few weeks ago is awesome for the sport.”

Despite limited competition opportunities this year due to injury Fourie still believes he can win medals in Lyon.

“I don’t think any athlete goes into a race settling for anything less than thinking I can win the 100m and 200m so that’s obviously the focus,” he explained.

“I’ve not run a lot of 100m this season so I’m not going to put any money on running certain times. I still feel that I’m definitely in decent shape for a medal and maybe a little bit more than that.”

The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships opens this Friday (19 July) and will feature over 1,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries. It is the biggest gathering of international athletes since London 2012 and will be streamed live from Saturday morning via www.ParalympicSport.TV.

Live results can be found at the Lyon 2013 IPC Athletics World Champs website whilst updates and behind the scenes pictures can be found at twitter.com/IPCAthletics and facebook.com/IPCAthletics.