With a little over nine weeks on her side in order to shave a full second from her comeback time, Australia's hurdles champion Sally Pearson will turn to four more European races to see whether or not her Olympic defence is alive.
Pearson described as "disgusting" her time of 13.25 seconds at the Birmingham Diamond League on Sunday - her first race since suffering a broken wrist in Rome a year ago.
It's well short of Pearson's personal best of 12.28sec and more than a second back from the best time run in 2016 - by American hotshot Kendra Harrison.
But she was confident that her upcoming schedule - beginning in France on Tuesday, and with events in Oslo, Lucerne and Stockholm to follow - will let her catch up to her young rivals.
"I haven't raced in 12 months (prior to Birmingham). I need to catch up - clearly I need to catch up," Pearson said.
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"I'll be working on the same thing each race.
"It's just a matter of whether I can build my speed now.
"And if I think if I can keep following my race and making sure I can make all my niggles - not injuries but niggles - under control then I'll be able to build my speed at each race and hopefully not see 13 seconds again."
In particular, Harrison has set the benchmark while Pearson has been sidelined with wrist, calf and Achilles injuries.
The 23-year-old took out Sunday's race in Birmingham - nearly a full second clear of Pearson's seventh-placed finish - to prove her explosive 12.24s run, the second fastest in history, at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon was no fluke.
"I'm just excited," Harrison said.
"This will be my first professional season. To be doing as well as I am, I'm just really blessed."
