Sally Pearson turns back the clock with fast run in London

Former Olympic champion Sally Pearson has sent a message to her rivals that she is ready to contend for the world title.

American world record-holder Kendra Harrison, left, holds off Australia’s Sally Pearson to win the women’s 100m hurdles at the Anniversary Games in London yesterday.

Former Olympic champion Sally Pearson has sent a message to her key rivals that she is ready to contend for the world title next month.

Pearson roared back into top form at the Diamond League meet in London yesterday, running her fastest time since her gold medal triumph on the same track almost five years ago.

She finished a close second (12.48sec) to American world record-holder Kendra Harrison (12.39sec) and will expect to improve in the four weeks between now and the world titles.

Pearson, 30, has only run faster once outside a major championship. Crucially, her best four performances have all come when there was a title on the line, at the 2011 world titles and the 2012 Olympics.

By contrast, 24-year-old Harrison has not yet had the experience of racing for a global title so her nerve is untested at that level.

She failed to qualify for the US Olympic team last year but bounced back to win the US trial last month to earn her chance to compete for the world title.

The American, who set the world record of 12.20sec on the London Olympic track last year, will still start as the hot favourite for the world title.

She has been untroubled in competition over the last year, but Australian head coach Craig Hilliard said she would now know that Pearson was coming for her.

Harrison, who has rarely faced a challenge in the past year, acknowledged that Pearson had pushed her “all the way’’.

“Off what she showed yesterday, she can win the world title. You would be a fool to say she can’t win ,’’ Hilliard said.

Pearson has put behind her four years in which injuries prevented her from showing her best, or from competing at all. She missed the 2015 world titles and last year’s Rio Olympics but now appears to have regained full fitness.

She said this was just the performance she had been looking for. “My times and my sprints have been improving but I had to prove to myself that I could actually do it ,’’ she said.

“I knew my preparations for London were going well but it was frustrating that I was running slow times. I really wanted to prove to myself that I am ready to go.’’

She will race again in Lucerne, Switzerland, this evening, and finish off her race preparation at the Diamond League meet in Monaco next week.

It was a strong dress rehearsal for the Australian team in London yesterday.

Olympic long jump finalist Brooke Stratton returned from injury to produce a world championships qualifier just 12 days before the entry deadline, leaping 6.79m.

Stratton finished third behind Olympic champion Tianna Bartoletta (7.01m) and Olympic bronze medallist Ivana Spanovic (6.88m) in only her second international competition since Rio. Australia’s rising distance star Patrick Tiernan set his fifth consecutive personal best time this season to finish fourth (7min 37.76sec) behind Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion Mo Farah over 3000m.

Commonwealth Games javelin medallist Kelsey-Lee Roberts is also in career-best form, setting her second personal best in four days.