Sally Pearson fit and firing ahead of London world championships

Sally Pearson, the no-nonsense uber-dedicated poster woman of the track, is as fit as she was five years ago.

Sally Pearson ran fifth to American world record holder Kendra Harrison in Monaco last month.

Australia’s antidote to the embarrassing, whining, self-serving, brattish sports stars — hello Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios — is back on the track knowing that to win a world championship medal this month will be the hardest effort of her athletic life.

Sally Pearson, the no-nonsense uber-dedicated poster woman of the track, is as fit as she was five years ago, a staggering fact given the run of setbacks that had sidelined her from the biggest competitions in the past two years.

But this is Pearson, endearingly blunt and uncompromising and a fresh blast of honesty that helps counter Australia’s ­deteriorating international sporting reputation.

While cricketers were in danger of missing the Ashes and the swim team limps home from a dispiriting world championships in Budapest, there is comfort in knowing that Pearson has not given up.

Unconventional to the core, Pearson has roared through her own training program, coaching herself for the past year back into contention for the hurdles at the London world championships, which start on Friday.

“Knowing that I have achieved in this stadium before and knowing I’m coming back again, probably not as the favourite to win but certainly a contender to at least medal or make a final or whatever, that sits well with me,’’ she said. “But it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be one of the hardest races that I have ever done in my whole career, even harder than going for gold in London.’’

It’s been a bewitching time for Pearson, alternating between the other world of coach, and an inner world of athlete pain, but the results are there: Pearson is the third-fastest in the world this year.

After two bad years dealing with injuries to a wrist, a hamstring and an achilles, Pearson said her recent London Diamond League meet time of 12.48sec — matching her London 2012 Olympic gold medal time — ­finally reflected her flat speed in training. It also rocked the expectation that the US hurdlers, including world record holder Kendra Harrison, would have the 100m hurdles medals sewn up.

Athletics Australia head coach Craig Hilliard said he never worried about Pearson coaching herself.

Pearson is so tough on herself she can unstintingly follow her pre-planned program.

Hilliard said she knew what she was doing.

“I’ve had no concerns,’’ he said. “She had been with (former coach) Sharon Hannan and been in the sport a long time to achieve that goal. Such an athlete should be able to coach themselves. In terms of programming content and structure, they really do know.”

But he added a rider: “As long as there is biomechanics input and another pair of eyes.’’

That’s because Pearson has been able to correct a small deficiency in her start in the past fortnight after being scrutinised by some of the Australian coaches in the team camp at Tonbridge.

As is Pearson’s wont, she had been firing out of the start too fast and approaching the first flight of hurdles slightly off rhythm. So she has corrected her initial steps from the start and now feels much better.

“To be fair on myself, I could say ‘go out and have fun’, but the other side of me says, ‘no, you’re going out to win’,’’ Pearson said of her championship expectations.

“Deep down I would love a medal, any colour. That would be a huge success, and I would be very satisfied with a final place.’’ The 30-year-old has Harrison in her sights.

“It’s just a matter of what tricks does she have up her sleeve as well, what can she pull out and what can I pull out at the last minute,” Pearson said.

“I know that I have a lot more to give. It’s just a matter of whether I can deliver it on the day.’’

The tone for the swollen Australian team of 62 athletes will be well established by the time Pearson races as the hurdles event is on the eighth day of competition.

Hilliard said the championships would be a triumph if the team returned with two medals. The benchmark performance demanded by the Australian Sports Commission is zero to one gold and two to four medals of any colour.

“I’d be happy if we got two medals at these games,’’ said Hilliard, adding that this team was largely inexperienced.

“This is our next crop (of athletes) for the next four-year cycle, and that’s important in terms of expectation, although we have got core group of medal hopes.’’

Hilliard said one of the other big medal hopes, walker Jared Tallent, wasn’t in the same shape as he was at the Rio Olympics.

“Jared had a protracted break after the Olympics and he’s a dad, he’s juggling fatherhood and a few little niggles and some minor things have impacted (on his form). He is not in Rio shape,’’ Hilliard said.