Sally Pearson eyes 2020 Olympics tilt after withdrawing from Commonwealth Games

Heart-broken Sally Pearson says her decision to withdraw from the Gold Coast Games was made with the 2020 Olympics in mind.

Sally Pearson has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games due to injury. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

A heart-broken Sally Pearson says her decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games was made with the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in mind.

Pearson, the Australian athletics team captain, was considered one of the country’s best gold medal hopes as she sought to defend the 100 metre hurdle title she won in 2010 and 2014.

However, an ongoing Achilles problem flared on the eve of the games on the Gold Coast, leaving her with little choice but to announce her withdrawal from the Commonwealth Games. Pearson, flanked by Australian coach Craig Hilliard and team doctor Paul Blackman, explained her decision before a packed media conference, revealing she was committed to reaching peak form for the Tokyo Olympics.

“I did everything I possibly could ... to get out here and race for Australia,” she said.

“Everyone who is here today knows how much of a competitor I am and how much I love running for my country, and for my teammates. I know I have a lot of fans who were wanting to watch me race. For me, this is about my health and I want to go to Tokyo in 2020. If I could have run, who knows what could have happened. I could have been out for a lot longer than I am now.

“Retirement wasn’t an option for me. This achilles issue has been around for a few years now since when I broke my wrist in 2015. achilles’ tendons ... are like a rollercoaster. They can be really, really good for a long time and then you can do something that is off.

“The rollercoaster obviously just went too high for this competition. Here we are. This year I will be rehabbing it and making it as strong as ever going into the world championships next year, then eight months after that the Olympic Games in Tokyo. For me that is the most important thing — to make sure I can get to those competitions as strong as ever and be the best I can. I showed last year coming back for the world championships. If my body is right and strong enough, it will work.”

Pearson had struggled with the achilles problem in the lead-up to the Games but revealed the injury had flared two days ago during a training session. In consultation with Hilliard and Blackman, Pearson opted to withdraw from both the hurdles and the 100-metre relay team. The trio held further talks as Pearson wavered.

“Gutted, absolutely gutted,” she said.

“There were a lot of tears flowing, a lot of emotion. I guess you could call it grief, going through the numb-faced first and then crying phase. Then speaking to Craig and Paul, just double checking and triple checking this was the right decision we made and making sure there was no other possible way to get out on the track without doing more damage.

Sally Pearson. Picture: Alex Coppel.

“Craig has been sitting with me for hours drinking coffee. I went in again yesterday and said can we have another meeting just to confirm this was the right decision to make. It is gut-wrenching. It is heart-breaking. It is very unfortunate that I can’t get out there. I went out there last night into the opening ceremony and heard the roar for Australia. Not being able to feel that for myself in my individual events is very disappointing.

“Two days ago. I was at a training session, I went there with full confidence. If you were here last week, in Brisbane, I raced in the competition. It was obvious I was in good shape and racing fast.

“I went to training, as planned, after the competition. I trained well in Brisbane at the camp, still very confident. A few days after that I came out to the Village and did another training session, full of confidence warming up. Then I went into some hurdle drills and run-throughs, just could not do it.

“The thing with the achilles tendon is they spike very quickly. This has been ongoing for a couple of years and it is unfortunate the timing is now. My health comes first. I wanted to be able to go to the Opening Ceremony and enjoy myself, I had a big role to play, it is why I left it until today to announce it.”

The 2012 Olympic champion has spent much of the past three years battling injury. Her difficulties began when she fell during a race in 2015, suffering a traumatic arm injury which ruled her out for the remainder of the season.

She was then expected to be among the contenders to win gold at the Rio Olympics but suffered a torn hamstring in training which forced her to withdraw.

Australian athletics star Sally Pearson. Picture: Adam Head.

Pearson seemingly put years of injury torment behind her when she won the gold medal at last year’s world championships, renewing hope that she could defend the gold medal she won at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games.

However, injury has cruelled her again, the pain this year likely to be exacerbated by the fact the Commonwealth Games are being held on home turf.

The withdrawal of Pearson also shapes as a major blow to the Gold Coast Games.

The reigning world champion in the women’s 100m hurdles, Pearson has been the face of the Games and played a major role in last night’s opening ceremony after taking part in the final stages of the Queen’s baton relay.

But she never broke out of a slow walk during her leg of the relay and was reluctant to discuss her fitness. Earlier she had insisted she was a “90 per cent” chance to make the hurdles final on Friday week. But her desperate bid to regain her fitness in time has fallen short.