Marie-Jose Perec has said she will never set foot in Australia again, because she was forced to flee the country before her clash with Cathy Freeman because of the behaviour of Australians towards her in the street.

Perec - France's triple Olympic gold medallist - claimed she was "completely wiped out" during the telephone interview with French sports daily L'Equipe. Asked if she would compete again she said: "If the decision had to be taken today then it would be no."

The Guadeloupe-born star also took a swipe at Freeman, who took her 400m title, by saying she would have won had she competed in Sydney.

The Frenchwoman made a dramatic departure with her agent claiming a stalking incident had prompted her flight, although French Athletics officials have since cast doubt on that claim.

On the flight home Perec and her partner Anthuan Maybank were detained for 11 hours by Singapore police after Maybank had an altercation with a photographer in the transit lounge at Changi. No charges were brought.

In her interview with L'Equipe Perec said that she had been hounded throughout her stay in Australia. "There was not a day went by without me being hunted like an animal, truly," Perec said.

"People made threatening gestures and started following me. Several times, in a supermarket, there were problems. You can put up with words. But I was really frightened.

"That's what made me leave. Suddenly, that morning, I took my bag and nothing more counted other than leaving - even the gold medal I had come for. I will never set foot there again."

AFP