Woman who walks fast runs on European track

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When Angela Chalmers was a little girl, her great uncle had a dream while working in the fields one day.

The dream was about a woman and a storm and the words walk fast, walk fast. And it so it was that when Chalmers began showing potential as a young runner she was named Dusnanwe at a special ceremony. The name means woman who walks fast.

Special ceremonies were also part of the 15th Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, where Chalmers walked into Centennial Stadium as the flag-bearer for the Canadian team. Six days later she walked in again, as the gold medallist, for her 3,000 metre medal ceremony.

After establishing a Commonwealth Games and Canadian record in the 3,000, Chalmers chose not to defend her 1,500 metre title a few days later.

Patronage is one reality, but financial realities are another for the full-time athlete, who decided to race in Berlin instead of the Commonwealth 1,500 on her home turf in Victoria, even though she would have finished no worse than second.

Her two-year contact with Adidas has just expired, so it was important to return to the heartland of track and field, to impress potential sponsors and to earn some money by running well against the world's best.

"Adidas Germany needs to see me in Europe, and if I'm to continue to be a full-time athletes that's what I need to do," said Chalmers, who four years ago became the first woman to win the 1,500 and 3,00 in the same Commonwealth Games.

"If I do well, there will be some significant financial success, but I need to do that if I'm going to stay in the sport two more years.

"I didn't know if I could recover in time," said Chalmers of her reason for not defending her Commonwealth Games 1,500 metre title. "It's not that the race here (in Victoria) wouldn't be a good race. I also need to get over jet lag by going to Europe before the Grand Prix final (in September.)

"I want to test myself against the best in the world," said Chalmers, who said there has been little financial benefit from her three Commonwealth Games medals (all gold) and her 1992 Olympic bronze.

"No, (potential sponsors) are not beating a path to my door. It didn't mean a lot of commercial success from winning the medals in Auckland, and the Barcelona bronze didn't mean a lot. And I don't think this Commonwealth medal will either," Chalmers said.

Still, the endeared herself to the Canadian crowd while becoming the only woman who will ever successfully defend her Commonwealth 3,000 metre title. Why? Because at the next Games women will run 5,000 metres instead.