Fit and firing early in the year, Sally Pearson expects to set a fast time at the IAAF Melbourne World Challenge on Saturday that will likely make her leading northern hemisphere rivals sit up and take notice.
Pearson's first hitout for the year in the 100m hurdles two weeks ago in Brisbane produced the expected commanding victory in a solid time of 12.74 seconds.
But the Queenslander was expecting something even quicker and reckons she would have got it if not for a bout of food poisoning in the lead-up and the fact that she had only flown home from Florida the day before the race.
There have been no similar setbacks in the preparation for Saturday's meet at Lakeside Stadium.
"When you consider all of those factors I suppose I ran quite well in Brisbane but we were probably hoping for a 12.5," the world and Olympic champion said on Friday.
"If weather permits tomorrow we should see a pretty good time."
Pearson stopped short of declaring it would be an early statement of intent to the leading American and European hurdlers in a year which culminates in the world championships in Beijing.
None of them have had the chance to race outdoors yet in 2015.
"I think they're used to me opening up with quick times," said Pearson.
"I just hope for me personally I can keep that rolling throughout the year and make sure my body is 100 per cent going into the world championships with the best preparation I can have - just make sure everyone realises that I haven't gone away too easily."
Pearson finished second behind flying American Brianna Rollins at the previous world titles in Moscow in 2013 and also claimed silver the last time she competed at Beijing's iconic Bird's Nest Stadium at the 2008 Olympics.
But only gold will suffice this time.
If Pearson can produce something slick on Saturday night, the other beneficiary could well be countrywoman Michelle Jenneke, who only only needs to trim another four hundredths of a second from her PB of 13.04 set last month in Canberra to also go under the world championships qualifying mark.
"I like to inspire and motivate the next generation coming through and if that means more good hurdlers then that's fantastic," said Pearson, who is also the Australian athletics team captain.
"Michelle is obviously running really well, she's chopped a lot off her times.
"I don't say I like to help competitors, because at the end of the the day she is a competitor, but it would be nice to see another Australian on the team for the world championships."
Share
