SYDNEY, June 12 (AFP) - Olympic 400-metre championCathy Freeman has withdrawn from a track meet in Francethis weekend, Australian head coach Keith Connor said onThursday.
Freeman was due to run in Lille on Sunday, but hasdecided to delay the start of her build-up to the worldchampionships in Paris from August 23-31.
``She was pencilled in to run in Lille, but she’strying to get some more training done so she’s pulledout of the meet,’’ Connor said.
Freeman, 30, is on the comeback trail after a two-yearbreak from athletics following her 2000 Sydney Olympicsvictory and her split with husband Sandy Bodeckerearlier this year.
In her past two outings, Freeman has been beaten bythe world’s leading 400m runner, Mexican Ana Guevara.
Guevara upstaged Freeman in a 300m race in Mexico Citybefore relegating the Australian to her worst 400mplacing in more than a decade in Freeman’s first solo400m since winning in Sydney.
Freeman is now expected to start her world titlesbuild-up in Poznan, Poland on June 29.
She is also scheduled to compete in the 400m inGateshead, England, on July 13.
Meanwhile, Daniel Batman has been cleared to compete in the world championships.
The Australian 400m runner had been locked in a disciplinary dispute with Athletics Australia.
Batman, 22, had called head coach Connor "an idiot who knows nothing about anything in life’’ for not giving him an exemption from competing at the recent national titles, then failed to attend the medal ceremony after finishing a well-beaten second to Clinton Hill.
But Connor said on Thursday that Batman had apologised to him, accepted a 5,000 dollar ($US3,250) fine for being an idiot and agreed to apologise to athletes affected by his no-show at the medal ceremony, including Hill, who he (Batman) has now asked to be permitted to train with! :shoot::baddevil::