Sally Pearson’s dancefloor dominance: Olympic champion’s new challenge on ‘Dancing with the Stars Australia’

From Olympic Gold to Television Stardom: Sally Pearson juggles motherhood, career and intense training schedules as she charms the audience on ‘Dancing with the Stars Australia’.

Sally Pearson on the Gold Coast ahead of Dancing With the Stars. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Olympic champion Sally Pearson has swapped the running track for dance tracks as she embarks on a rigorous training regime for her next challenge.

Less than a year after welcoming son Harry into the world, Pearson, 36, is joining Dancing with the Stars Australia.

And it hasn’t been an easy transition for the champion.

“Every day, Monday to Friday, we’re dancing six hours a day,” she said.

“Because we had so much to learn and if you didn’t do that, then we would look a bit silly on stage.”

While the mother-of-two has continued her career as a presenter at 7 News Gold Coast, she has somehow managed to weave the demanding dance schedule into her busy life.
She attributes her balancing act between, work, training and motherhood to a strong support system.
“I had to rely heavily on my husband and my mother in law to be able to help me get through, because otherwise I would never have been able to do it,” she said.

Pearson, who retired from competitive athletics in 2019, welcomed daughter Ruby in 2020 and son Harry in 2022.

But her participation in Dancing with the Stars is not just a new challenge for the former Olympic gold medallist, it’s a fulfilment of a childhood dream.

“I know when the show first came out I remember saying I really would love to be on that show one day. I was a huge fan of it. So it’s really just like living my childhood dream,” she said.

The Olympic champion is also quick to acknowledge the intense physical demands of dancing, equating it to the dedication required in her athletics career,
“They train like an Olympic athlete to be able to perform like an artist on stage.”

Pearson also responded with grace to her longstanding under-18 100m hurdles record being shattered by the promising 16-year-old Delta Amidzovski. Rather than bitterness, Pearson expressed happiness.

“I’m so glad that finally someone’s done that and there’s a new generation coming through,” she said.

Originally published as Sally Pearson’s dancefloor dominance: Olympic champion’s new challenge on ‘Dancing with the Stars Australia’