The Electronic Telegraph Monday 23 July 2001 Tom Knight IF KATHARINE MERRY needed a gauge on how her World Championship ambitions have been affected by the weeks she lost to a viral infection, it came in the last 60 metres of her race at Crystal Palace. In her first 400m for three weeks, Merry looked close to her old self - until she entered the home straight. She won but it was a struggle. The time, 50.67sec, was respectable but almost irrelevant. More important was the fact that the Olympic bronze medallist was back on a track at all. Six weeks ago in Athens, the 26-year-old had kick-started her season with an outstanding victory at a Grand Prix in Athens. Her 49.59sec there was a personal best and still ranks as the fastest time in the world this year. It immediately installed her as the favourite to capture the world title in Edmonton but, almost as quickly, the virus robbed her of the chance to capitalise on the best form of her life. Last night, she employed her usual tactics of running a controlled first 200m before pressing the accelerator round the top bend. She entered the home straight some 10m clear of a field which included the Olympic finalist, Ana Guevara, of Mexico, and the Commonwealth champion, Sandie Richards, of Jamaica. However, with 60m to go, all those lost training sessions appeared to take their toll and the usually fluent Merry had to battle her way to the line. She now has less than a fortnight to find the strength and speed she will need to survive four races and triumph at the World Championships. It took her a long time to recover from her ordeal but she was happy to be back. She said: "I always wanted to be at this meeting but I'm not as fit as I would like to be at this stage of the season. I set my standards very high in Athens but there was nothing I could do about the virus. If you're sick, you're sick." Merry is not alone among British athletes recovering from illness. Kelly Holmes, who also won bronze in Sydney, continued her increasingly encouraging progress last night by finishing third in the 800m, won by Brazil's Fabiane Dos Santos. Her time, 1min 58.85sec, was a season's best. Holmes said: "I am getting there. This was only my third race of the season and I'm already in a better position than I was before the Olympics." Eamonn Condon www.RunnersGoal.com
