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Ottey PORT OF SPAIN, CANA -
JAMAICAN sprint queen Merlene Ottey will trade her running spikes for the catwalk when the Sydney Olympics is over.
In a report from Down Under, the Express states the 40-year-old Ottey has expressed a desire to get away from athletics and start a new career.
Last Saturday, Ottey gave another outstanding performance finishing fourth in the 100 metres final in what could be her last individual international event.
She is likely to announce her retirement from the sport after the 4x100 metres relay.
"Most likely this is the end. After the Games I'll sit down and think about it and if I get something better to do in the next few months, I'll move on for sure," Ottey told the Express.
Ottey first represented Jamaica as a 14-year-old and has won close to 40 medals on the international stage.
She said that when she retires she will pursue a career in high fashion and ruled out any hopes of staying in the sport as a coach.
"Twenty six years around athletics is enough. I don't want to spend my entire life in it. I want another challenge," the Monte Carlo resident said.
The Atlanta Games double sprint silver medallist is taking part in her sixth Olympic Games and has definitely ruled out Athens in 2004.
"I'll be there if there's only a straight final. Let's put it this way, at 44 I'll be dead after two rounds," Ottey said.
"I have lasted this long because I like what I do and I believe in myself. I like to fight. When people write me off I like to go out there and take up the challenge to show them that I'm still good," she said.
Her final act is set for Saturday in the women's sprint relay final and all Caribbean hopes will be for her to end her illustrious career with a gold medal.
Ottey last year was tested positive for the banned substance, nandrolone at an athletics meeting in Germany.
She was subsequently exonerated by the Jamaica Athletics Federation and the International Amateur Athletics Federation later allowed her to compete in Sydney.
Ottey was also involved in a minor controversy last week when several Jamaican athletes protested her inclusion in the 100 metres field at the expense of another runner who qualified by winning the national trials which Ottey finished fourth.
