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Commonwealth Games 2018: Sally Pearson enjoying smooth preparation

BORING is good for Sally Pearson.That’s how she’s describing her Commonwealth Games preparation which in Sally-speak means everything is progressing exactly the way she wants.

Sally Pearson has a busy schedule ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Sally Pearson has a busy schedule ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

BORING is good for Sally Pearson.

That’s how she’s describing her Commonwealth Games preparation which in Sally-speak means everything is progressing exactly the way she wants.

While her training might be mundane and without incident, her diary over the next month is anything but boring.

Next week the hurdles queen will take part in the Australian team selection trials for the Games on her home track of the Gold Coast.

She will then fly to Monaco for the Laureus World Sports Awards where she is nominated for comeback of the year after returning from two years off the track to win a second world championships title.

Two days after that ceremony on February 27 she will be in Birmingham chasing another world indoor crown.

Given all the troubles she’s had in recent years, a hectic schedule with a healthy body brings a smile to Pearson’s face who admits to being most excited about mixing it with the some of the biggest names in sport at the Laureus Awards.

Sally Pearson has a busy schedule ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Sally Pearson has a busy schedule ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

She’s in good company for comeback of the year, squaring off against Roger Federer, who won two Grand Slam titles last year after a knee injury, and Valentino Rossi, who was competing in a MotoGP race 25 days after breaking his leg.

Other nominees include soccer giant Barcelona, who beat Paris St Germain 6-1 in a Champions League match to reverse a first-leg 0-4 deficit, Chapecoense, the Brazilian football which returned to competitions after fatalities from a November 2016 plane crash, and American Justin Gatlin who upstaged Usain Bolt to win the 100m world title.

“Your name comes up as a nominee and you are, `What? How did that happen?’ You don’t think of yourself like that or think of the awards after the competitions you’ve run. It’s like the cherry on top and a huge honour,” Pearson said.

“Being up against Roger Federer, he’s pretty much what sport means, and when you watch him play, it’s just incredible how he handles himself.

“It’s a huge honour to be up against names that. I never thought I would ever see the day to be alongside those sorts of athletes.”

After coaching herself to a world title in London last year, Pearson finds it hard to split that victory and her 2012 Olympic crown when asked to name the pinnacle of her career.

“The few years after (the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games) was pretty hard with physical injuries and then you’ve got mental scarring because you just are so upset and so down on yourself that you have to figure out a way to get out of that,” she said.

“London 2017 was more of a different story than anything, and it was a different time in my career.

“I can’t really compare the two (the world title and the 2012 Olympic gold medal) because obviously the two were so different.

“I’m proud of them the same but in a different way.”

Originally published as Commonwealth Games 2018: Sally Pearson enjoying smooth preparation

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/commonwealth-games/commonwealth-games-2018-sally-pearson-enjoying-smooth-preparation/news-story/ef42a80b07d3f41c07d0dcf2cc05f318