AS THE 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain approached, Juliet Cuthbert was determined not to be another also-ran in her fourth appearance at sport's biggest showpiece.

The diminutive sprinter had little to show for her previous outings in Moscow, Los Angeles and Seoul but she turned up in prime form in Barcelona, taking silver in the sprint events. She just failed to nab American Gail Devers in the 100 metres in a breath-taking blanket finish; in the 200 metres she was beaten by another American, the combative Gwen Torrence.

HIGH POINT

Now 40, Cuthbert says her performances at the Barcelona Olympics are easily the high point of her international career which began at the 1980 Games in Moscow.

"After going to three Olympics without getting a medal and then getting two in 1992 really tops everything," she told The Gleaner. Cuthbert credits maturity as a person and an athlete for that improvement.

"I think it was just the development of Juliet Cuthbert why 1992 was my biggest year. After leaving school I saw that I could make a living from track and field and I became more serious about my development," she explained.

EMIGRATED TO THE US

Born in Morant Bay, Cuthbert competed at Girls Champion-ships for Morant Bay High School but emigrated to the United States in her early teens. She went on to college, attending the University of Texas at Austin where she competed at the NCAA level and earned a degree in Sociology.

Although she had been competing on the Grand Prix circuit since 1985, Cuthbert's international record was not earth-shattering. With the Jamaica National Trials coming up, she prepared to unleash the new and improved Juliet Cuthbert on her countrymen.

"My best time (in the 200 metres) was 22.34 or 22.39 but I set a goal to run 22.07 seconds by the time the Olympics came around," she said. "By May I was close so I figured that by August I can definitely run 22.07 or 22.00 flat."

While Cuthbert concentrated on improving her statistics in the 200 metres, it was in the 100m that she stunned fans who turned up at the National Stadium for the National Trials. She defeated champion sprinter Merlene Ottey in the latter, something that had not been done locally for a long time.

It was a defining moment in Cuthbert's build-up to the Barcelona Olympics.

"I felt if I could beat her there I could beat her at the Olympics," said Cuthbert.

Based on her unstoppable Grand Prix form, Ottey was the one to beat in the sprint events with her main rivals being Torrence and the Russian Irina Privalova. But in the 100 metres final it was the dark horses, Devers and Cuthbert, who disrupted form books.

Devers, a favourite for the 100 metres hurdles, led from the start to hold off a closing pack headed by Cuthbert and Privalova. Torrence finished fourth and Ottey fifth in a race Cuthbert considers one of the most remarkable in Olympic history.

"I think it was the most intense, everyone in the top five ran '10.80s' (the winning time was 10.82, second 10.83, Privalova 10.84, Ottey and Torrence finished in 10.86) and I don't think we will ever see five persons doing that again...that's rare," said Cuthbert.

"Devers and I weren't expected to figure in the equation because it was supposed to be the Merlene Ottey/Gwen Torrence showdown with Privalova third," she added. "That just goes to show you that the Olympics is not about who's running what at what time, it's really about who's calmest and who wants it more."

MORE CONFIDENT

Cuthbert was even more confident going into the 200 metres based on her improving form but Torrence had the field covered entering the stretch to win comfortably.

Four years later at the Atlanta Games, Cuthbert made the 200 metres final won by France's Marie-Jose Perec but was eliminated in the semi-final stage of the 100m. She blames a freak case of bronchitis, and the antibiotics she used to treat it, for a modest performance.

"It drained my energy, sapped me totally and I wasn't able to train every day," she recalled. "I ran some good times at the Olympics but I was not as strong."

BITTER-SWEET

The 1997 season was bitter-sweet for Cuthbert; she rebounded to compete strongly on the Grand Prix circuit but decided to call it a day after developing a painful foot ailment. She says track and field was also not paying the bills.

"I was not making any money on the circuit, I was depleting my bank account, selling stocks and I was also a single parent," she said. "I had to go find me a job."

Presently, Cuthbert works with a sports marketing company in Kingston and is a host on the call-in sports programme on KLAS FM. She also works as a fitness trainer with the Arnett Gardens National Premier League football team.