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Commonwealth Games Preview: Sally Pearson

Sally Pearson suffered a devastating injury which has forced her out of the Olympics (AFP/Olivier Morin).
Expert
24th July, 2014
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Sally Pearson is the shining star of the Australian track and field team, and is battling to overcome recent injuries to defend her Commonwealth Games crown.

The 27-year-old is reigning 100-metre hurdles champion from the previous Games in Delhi, and favourite to take a place on top of the podium this year.

She won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and went one better to win gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

What am I competing in?
Pearson will compete in the 100-metres hurdles, while she is yet to decide if she will run in the 100-metre sprint.

“I really, really want to [run the 100-metre flat]. I still want to say yes to it but I can’t guarantee,” she said.

“I’m going to make a decision at the last minute but I’m still trying to get there.

“At this point in time the hurdles is the priority because I want to win that.”

She is also penned in to compete in the 4×100-metre relay team, but said her involvement would also come down to a last-minute decision.

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“I’ll see how my training goes, see how I pull up after the hurdles because I’ve got two high intensity races one after the other,” she said.

“And I haven’t done that yet, so it will be definitely a decision after that.”

Who’s my competition?
Britain’s Tiffany Porter will provide fierce competition, while Angela Whyte, of Canada, secured silver in Delhi and will want to improve on that result.

Pearson also faces rivalry from inside the Australian camp, with up-and-comer Michelle Jenneke and current national champion Shannon McCann looking to compete for medals.

If Pearson were to compete in the 100-metre sprint, she would have to overcome the pace of Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who is the fourth fastest woman of all time.

Form heading into the Games
The 27-year-old has been plagued with a hamstring injury for the last six weeks, after tweaking it in early June. It’s an injury which also troubled her in the first half of 2013.

She ran 12.87 (12.89) for third place in the Diamond League meet in Glasgow in June, but that was well shy of her personal best of 12.28 seconds, which she ran at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea.

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She finished second in Switzerland earlier this month, beating reigning world champion Brianna Rollins with a time of 12.90.

While it hasn’t been scintillating form, it’s an improvement from a meet in Belgium, where Pearson only ran 13.19 seconds.

Commonwealth Games history
Pearson won gold in the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, with Whyte and Andrea Miller taking out the silver and bronze.

She was denied a chance at two gold medals, after a controversial false start saw her disqualified in the 100-metre flat three days earlier.

Despite false starting along with English runner Laura Turner, Pearson was allowed to line-up, and completed the race in 11.28 seconds to finish first. However, after a protest was lodged she was officially disqualified.

“The most disappointing part is that I was told I was clear – I did my victory lap with the flag,” she said after the race.

“I was walking out to the medal ceremony and then I was called back. That’s not right.”

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The devastating blow could be the reason why she feels she has unfinished business in the 100-metre sprint, and is so determined to prove her fitness to compete in it.

Why should Aussies get behind me?

Pearson is a world champion and a star of the Australian Commonwealth Games squad, and one of the country’s best chances of a gold medal on the track.

She is coming back from injury and her left thigh will be heavily strapped, meaning victory would be a massive achievement and cement her place as the world’s best 100-metre hurdler.

As reigning Olympics and Commonwealth champion, there will be a target on her back, but she should be able to handle the pressure.

While her preparation and form are hardly impressive, Pearson herself is happy with her progrees, writing on Twitter, “It’s coming. Satisfied. 12.89 thank you Paris” back in June.

Pearson would have been hoping for an injury-free run to the Commonwealth Games, but she is still positive about challenging for gold.

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“I know I have that competitive drive still in me… to become a better athlete a faster athlete and become Commonwealth Games champion,” she said.

Pearson has won 13 national titles, most recently at Melbourne in April, were she ran 12.72.

Writing on her personal blog a few weeks out from the Games, Pearson sounded upbeat.

“I have been doing a lot of specific hurdles work to get back into shape with the main aim of winning the Commonwealth Games, which I think is a very realistic goal,” she said.

“The rehab process is obviously very slow going, your head wants to do it and is trying to tell you to do it but your body is saying ‘slow down we can’t push it if you want to race the rest of the season’.

“I have worked very hard to get back to where I am in a short space of time.”

Pearson is also staying modest about her chances in the 100-metre sprint, despite her obvious pedigree in the 100-metre hurdles. She also has unfinished business to attend to, having been denied gold in Delhi.

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“I’m not expecting medals because I think this time around the best in the world will be attending the Commonwealth Games and they’ll probably run 11s, 10.9s, who knows?,” she said.

“I’d really like to try and see how I would go against [Fraser-Pryce] because I’m always in good shape when I get to a major.”

Fast Facts
– Pearson’s breakthrough performance came in 2001 at the Australian Championships. She was just 14 and won the Under-20 100-metre sprint
– Won gold in the 100-metre hurdles at the World Youth Championships in 2003
– She tragically fell at her first 100-metre hurdles appearance at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006
She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to sport at the London Olympics
– She is a huge animal lover, and owns two golden retrievers, Oscar and Toby
– She has been together with her husband Kieran Pearson since their senior year at Helensvale State High School

This article was first published on the Tenplay website here.

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