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American hurdler Melissa MorrisonAmerican hurdler Melissa Morrison will compete in the 100-meter hurdle semifinals Wednesday. She won her second round heat with a time of 12.76 seconds. CNNSI.com asked Morrison about her upcoming race. I am just relaxing today [Tuesday]. It's kind of hectic today because a lot of people do start tomorrow. I will stay in the Village tonight. My family is here, my mom, Ollie Morrison and my brother and sister and niece and my girlfriend and her mother and my boyfriend of course. They are staying in a beautiful house out of Sydney. I like the Olympic Village because there is plenty to do. But sometimes there is too much to do. It gets crowded. The village felt empty yesterday. The athletes like to get away from the madness, hang out with their family. It's good to have my family there. And someplace else to go especially after competing. I was very pleased with my performance yesterday. I am literally the smallest hurdler in the world. Literally the smallest. I was very pleased to run a 12.76 in such a strong head wind. I made it through to the semifinals! My new shoes were too small in the first round, so I went back to my old Betsys in the second round. I am glad I had them with me. I didn't try out the new shoes before so I am glad I brought the other shoes along. I love Reebok's shoes. There were 112,000 people in the stands, but I didn't even notice the crowd. The only thing I am looking at is straight down the hurdles lane. Once I get there, I just notice my lane. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all. I felt the same way I did at the Trials. I was just ready to run.
Coach Frye said that was the best run I have run all season. Usually the second part is the time when the competitors catch up with me. The head wind was so strong. I just kept my head down and drove through. I felt like that was the best race I have run my whole entire career. Anybody in the semifinals can get a medal. There are 10 chances to do it with 10 hurdles. Anybody can fall down. You have 10 hurdles and anybody is the favorite. Anybody can win. I think if I run like I run yesterday I could medal. I would love to win a gold, but it would be an honor to just win one. I know I will be emotional. When I saw Cathy Freeman win her medal yesterday, I cried. If I win a medal they will have to come pick me up off the track because I won't get up. My mother has been behind me from day one. Since I didn't have a contract, I want to make sure I acknowledge her and praise God around the whole way around the track. The officials are going to have to say "OK Ms. Morrison, You have to leave the track. We have another race to run." I was kind of sad on Monday when Allen Johnson didn't medal. I am going to work extra hard because I feel really bad. I am going to try to do my best and work extra hard. I want to try to win a medal because it will be for everyone I train with, especially Allen because he should have been up on the medal stand. I talked to him last night and I know he feels bad. Allen wasn't 100 percent. He hurt his hamstring and he was 85-90 percent. He shouldn't feel that bad. Next year Allen will break the world record. He is really hungry now. Coach Frye and I thought Terrence Trammell looked great in practice and we both said he is going to be medal. I am happy for him. You know you want to be happy, but then you are sad for Allen. I can't wait to get back out on the track tomorrow!
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