CATCH US IF YOU CAN, SALLY SAYS TO RIVALS
GOLD Coast’s Sally Pearson says the sky’s the limit for a stacked Australian women’s 4x100m squad heading into this weekend’s IAAF world relays meet in Japan.
While the 100m hurdles remains the priority for the 2012 Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion, Pearson is looking forward to temporarily shifting her focus to the sprint relay in Yokohama.
A top-10 finish in any of the 4x100m and 4x400m events in Japan comes with a guaranteed spot in the field for the world athletics championships in Doha beginning in late September.
“I think the girls in the 4x100 can achieve amazing things,” Pearson said.
“Last year at the Commonwealth Games we had a setback in the relay and the team ultimately got disqualified when we could have gone close to the national record.
“This year, we’ve got (national 100m champion Naa Anang) running very fast even though she is still very new to the event. Then we’ve got two of the girls who ran at the Commonwealth Games (Maddie Coates and Riley Day) and me in the team too.
“I think we can again get very close to the Australian record and go very fast.”
That mark of 42.99 seconds dates back to 2000, set by a squad anchored by Melinda Gainsford-Taylor.
After the world relays, Pearson will remain in Japan to tackle the 100m hurdles in Osaka on May 19.