Not only is she a performer on the track, Canada's Perdita Felicien has become a hit in the Olympic village here in Athens.

Felicien has been entertaining teammates with nightly recitals of a poem to Olympians. With encouragement from fellow hurdlers Angela Whyte and Priscilla Lopes, the shows are drawing quite a crowd.

"People stop and stare and somebody even mooned me," said Felicien, who shouts out the verses from her balcony. "He was South African."

Felicien recited a passage of the poem for reporters yesterday at a press conference: "I'm not an Olympian because I'm strong, I'm not an Olympian because I'm fast, but I am an Olympian because I know others are stronger and faster.

"I am an Olympian because I strive to do better every day."