‘ I KNEW FOR TWO DAYS’
COMMONWEALTH GAMES COVERAGE
SALLY Pearson secretly hid her grief about pulling out of the Commonwealth Games when she played a starring role in Wednesday night’s opening ceremony.
The face of the Gold Coast Games knew her dreams of competing were over after an Achilles injury flared 24 hours earlier during a training session.
The two- time Commonwealth champion admitted she had gone through a range of emotions as she wrestled with the decision before eventually conceding she wouldn’t be competing at her hometown Games.
“I did everything I possibly could, I left no stone unturned to get out here and race for Australia in the 100m hurdles and 4x100m relay,” Pearson said.
“Everyone who is here today knows how much of a competitor I am and how much I love running for my country and my teammates and I know I have a lot of fans who are wanting to watch me race. But for me this is about my health and I want to go to Tokyo ( Olympics) in 2020.
“I was absolutely gutted. There were a lot of tears flowing, there were a lot of emo- tions, I guess you could call it grief going through the numb phase first, then going through the crying phase.
“It’s gut wrenching, it’s heartbreaking and its very unfortunate that I can’t get out there.
“I went to the opening ceremony and heard the roar for Australia and not being able to feel that for myself in my individual events is very disappointing.”
Pearson, 31, has been battling Achilles issues since 2015.
The injury flared again in January but she was then able to compete at the Games selection trials and world indoor championships.
She even raced in a relay in Brisbane last week but it was during a training session on Tuesday where the pain of the injury became too much to bear.