Cathy Freeman says she's come away from Mexico City with more than a sombrero and a bottle of tequila after her loss over 300m to Ana Gabriela Guevara.

Freeman finished third behind Guevara, the Mexican 400m champion who went unbeaten last year and is a favourite for the world championships in Paris in August.

But the Sydney Olympic gold medallist says the race gave her something to aim for and restored her ambition to be the world's best after a break from athletics.

"Now I have a target. Her name is Ana Gabriela Guevara," Freeman wrote in her column in British newspaper the Daily Telegraph.

"I had a glimpse of how much work I have to do when I raced her in Mexico City last Saturday night.

"It's so nice that the pressure is off me at last. It's so nice being the hunter instead of the hunted. Especially as I can see that each time I run I am making these steps towards improvement.

"I can feel the edge returning."

It was Freeman's first international outing since the Commonwealth Games last July and she said she felt more self-doubt than belief as she lined up in the blocks, something she was not used to.

"It isn't easy not knowing if you are going to win," she said.

"Part of me was thinking, `do I deserve to be here? I have all these question marks hanging over me.'"

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