Double Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec is back training in her native island of Guadeloupe, sports daily l'Equipereported today.
The Frenchwoman, who walked out of the Sydney Olympics without competing in the 400 metres after claiming she had been threatened in her hotel, is training behind closed doors at a sports college in Pointe-a-Pitre, the island's capital.
"If Marie-Jo has resumed training at a solid pace, it means that she must have at the back of her mind the urge to be back at her best soon," said Ms Camille Elisabeth, head of Guadeloupe's athletics league.
Perec, who went to ground after Sydney but was spotted last year in Chicago where her partner Anthuan Maybank lives, was refused entry in a Guadeloupe stadium last month after being told she had failed to ask for permission. That prompted local sports authorities to let her use the Pointe-a-Pitre facilities.
Perec has refused to talk to journalists, but her return to training coincides with that of Cathy Freeman, the Sydney 400 metres gold medallist. The Australian has chosen not to race for around a year.
Freeman had suggested her departure had been caused by a fear of racing her. Perec, who won the 200 and 400 metres in Atlanta in 1996, has not competed since.