Pearson ready for hot hurdles field at Games
SALLY Pearson is predicting quick conditions at this year’s Commonwealth Games, saying she will need to be faster than she was at London’s world titles to win gold.
She clocked 12.59sec in London last year, putting aside two years of injuries to win her second 100m hurdles world title.
After walking her home Gold Coast track for the first time yesterday, the 31-year-old expects sub-12.50sec times in a field likely to include long- time rivals Tiffany Porter and Danielle Williams.
“Quite possibly,” Pearson said when asked if she’d need to go quicker in April.
“Tiffany Porter, Danielle Williams and the Canadians are all 12.5 runners.
“We’re all going to be pushing each other for that gold medal spot and hopefully it’s just me at the end.”
Pearson will complete her first 100m hurdles of the season in Perth tomorrow in one of seven events, including England’s world indoor titles, before Gold Coast’s main event in April. Ruling out an individual 100m tilt on the Gold Coast, the former Olympic, world and Commonwealth Games champion said the opportunity to win on home soil in her pet event deserved full attention.
“I’m going to have enough pressure to run well in the hurdles,” she said of her decision to rule out the straight sprint.
“(Winning on the Gold Coast would rank) somewhere near the top; I haven’t got one in my home city yet ... I should say when it happens I’ll be able to tell you (how it ranks) then.”
The revamped Metricon Stadium is being expanded to hold 35,000 fans.
Walking the track with Australian decathlete Cedric Dubler yesterday, Pearson started visualising her race.
“It gives you a buzz just walking in and imagining what it’ll be like when it’s full,” she said. “The crowd just lifts you and it will be tough to not give back a lot of emotion to the crowd, because you’ve got to stay focused.”
“You can’t hesitate or be distracted by anything.”