Sprint record holder

Fighting words after the “awarded” gold

Markus Fuchs is fighting against a virus - and for the Olympic sprint.(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Mario Buehner-Weinrauch)

His voice still sounds a little scratchy and on Monday Markus Fuchs will undergo a thorough health check. A virus recently cost Austria's fastest man his tenth national title in the 100 meters. A few days later, however, the ticket for his first Olympic Games in Paris arrived. This gave the 28-year-old a new boost.

"The title is only borrowed, next year I'll fight back," Fuchs promised Noel Waroschitz after the national championships. The latter had beaten him by nine thousandths (!) in 10.40. "I had already left training in Zurich beforehand because I fell ill," says the 10.08 record holder, "and then after the championships it took me apart again."

Perhaps a necessary break: "There was so much hustle and bustle, the burden of the last few years fell away from me with the nomination. I've achieved something that I didn't even know I could do for a long time."

Whether he will make it to the start at the meeting in La Chaux de Fonds (Fra) this weekend, however, he cannot say at the moment. "But I had a situation like this two years ago, and then I was even faster!"