Sally Pearson,
OAM (née McLellan; born 19 September 1986)
[ is an Australian former ]athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
. She is the 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
and 2017 World champion and 2012 Olympic champion in the 100 metres hurdles
The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten Hurdling, hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first h ...
. She also won a silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
in the 100 m hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2013 World Championships.
Athletic career
Sally Pearson was born in Sydney and moved to Birdsville, Queensland
Birdsville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Birdsville had a population of 110 people. It is a popular tourist destination with many people using it as a starting point acro ...
when she was eight years old, before eventually settling on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
. It was there, while she was still in primary school, that her athletic talents were noticed by Sharon Hannan, who coached her until 2013. Pearson rose to prominence in 2001, when at the age of only 14, she won the Australian Youth 100 m and 90 m hurdles titles.
Athletics Australia
Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia.
First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...
, 2002, Retrieved on 18 October 2015 After injury setbacks during 2002 she made her international debut at the 2003 World Youth Championships in Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...
, Canada and won gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
in the 100 m hurdles. The following month, still only 16 years old, she represented Australia at open level at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France as part of the 4 × 100 m relay
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
team. In 2004, she won a bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
in the 100 m at the World Junior Championships, and just missed out on a medal in the 100 m hurdles.
At the 2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Pearson tripped over a hurdle and fell to the ground during the 100 m hurdles final, costing her the chance of a medal. In 2007, she continued to pursue both the 100 m and the 100 m hurdles, making the semi-final of each event at the World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, Japan. However, in the lead up to the 2008 Olympic Games, she shifted her focus solely to the 100 m hurdles. This decision paid off, with Pearson claiming the silver medal in a dramatic final, where the favourite Lolo Jones
Lori Susan "Lolo" Jones (born August 5, 1982) is an American hurdler and bobsledder who specializes in the 60-meter and 100-meter hurdles. She won three NCAA titles and garnered 11 All-American honors while at Louisiana State University. She wo ...
stumbled and a photo finish
A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...
was required to decide the minor medals. After the announcement of the official results a jubilant Pearson celebrated enthusiastically with bronze medal winner Priscilla Lopes-Schliep
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (born 26 August 1982) is a Canadian retired hurdler in track and field athletic competition. She was born in Scarborough, Ontario, and currently lives in Whitby.
Personal
Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Lopes-Schliep's h ...
, and gave an emotional trackside interview.
Pearson was in good form during the 2009 European season, winning five out of seven races and breaking the Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
and Oceanian record in the 100 m hurdles at the Herculis meeting in July, with a time of 12.50 seconds; 0.03 faster than the area record she had set on the same track a year earlier. However, she was hampered by back spasms in the lead up to the World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in Berlin, and was only able to finish fifth in the 100 m hurdles final.
2010 Commonwealth Games
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...
in Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Pearson competed in the 100 m sprint in addition to the 100 m hurdles. In the final of the 100 m she recorded a false start, along with English runner Laura Turner, but was allowed to line up for the restart, crossing the finish line first in a time of 11.28s. However a protest was lodged after the race, which resulted in a distraught Pearson being disqualified.[Reuters (7 October 2009)]
“Games-Oludamola wins 100m after Pearson disqualified”
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
. Retrieved on 7 October 2010["Pearson 'shouldn't have been allowed to run' "]
ABC Grandstand
ABC Sport, formerly ABC Radio Grandstand, is a live radio sports focused commentary and talk-back program which runs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) local radio network across Australia and on one digital-only station.
History
Fr ...
Sport. 2010-10-08, Retrieved on 8 October 2010 Three nights later she went on to win gold in the 100 m hurdles final in 12.67 seconds.[“Pearson bounces back with gold”](_blank)
ABC Grandstand Sport. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010 Pearson was also controversially included in the Australian team for the final of the women's 4 × 400 m relay
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
, an event she had not trained for, and collapsed after running the anchor leg, the Australian team having finished in fifth place. Even though she thought she had let the team down, her teammates comforted her.
At the beginning of the next season, she won the 100 m, 200 m and 100 m hurdles to become the first Australian woman to win three national titles at the same event since Pam Kilborn
Pamela Kilborn-Ryan, AM, MBE (born 12 August 1939) is an Australian former athlete who set world records as a hurdler. For three years, she was ranked as the world's top woman hurdler.
Kilborn was also an Olympic class sprinter, Long Jumper ...
had done in 1968.
2011 World championships
At the 2011 World Championships in Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, Pearson ran a 100m hurdles time of 12.28s (+1.1), the fourth fastest time in history, following the semi-finals where she produced the equal fifth fastest time in history of 12.36s (+0.3) to beat her own Oceanian area record and Australian national record.
2012 Olympics
Coming into the 2012 London Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, for the 100m hurdles Pearson had won 32 races from 34 starts. She led the competition after Round 1 heats with 12.57 and lead coming into the final with a semi-final time of 12.39. Pearson won gold with a new Olympic record time of 12.35s (Wind (m/s): -0.2) beating out Americans Dawn Harper, 12.37, and Kellie Wells, 12.48, who both recorded personal bests.
2015
At the Golden Gala
Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pie ...
, Pearson fell over a hurdle badly mid-race. She suffered a "bone explosion" of her left forearm and broke her wrist. The traumatic injury ruined the remainder of her 2015 season.
2016
Sally Pearson was set to be a strong contender to defend her gold medal title she won at the London 2012 Olympics. However, during a hard training session Pearson slightly tore her hamstring forcing her out of the Rio 2016 games.
2017 World championships
Pearson won the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles at the 2017 World Championships in London with a time of 12.59.
2018 Commonwealth Games
Pearson was to compete in the 100 metre hurdles and 4x100 relay but later withdrew due to an Achilles tendon injury.
Retirement
On 5 August 2019, Pearson announced her retirement from competitive athletics, stating that she did not believe that she would be ready for the 2020 Olympic Games. Pearson stated: "It has been a long 16 years, but also a fun and exciting 16 years. My body has decided it is time to let it go, and move forward onto a new direction." She is the eighth fastest 100m hurdles sprinter in history.
Recognition
*2008/2009 – Athletics Australia
Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia.
First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...
Female Athlete of the Year.
*2011 – Female Athlete of the Year. She is the first Australian to receive this award. Pearson also received prizemoney of 98,800($US76,117).
*2011 – "Key to the City of Gold Coast
The City of Gold Coast is the local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774 it is the second most populous local government area in Australia (City of Brisbane being the ...
".
*2012 – Athletics Australia
Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia.
First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...
Female Athlete of the Year.
*2012 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Don Award
*2012 – Queensland Sports Star of the Year.
*2013 – National Finalist Young Australian of the Year
The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
*2014 – Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(OAM) for service to sport as a gold medallist at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
*2014 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Don Award.
*2014 – Women's Health Sports Woman
*2017 – Australian Institute of Sport Female Athlete of the Year
*2017 – Athletics Australia
Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia.
First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...
Female Athlete of the Year.
*2018 – Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
final Queens Baton Relay runner
Personal life
Pearson was raised by her single mother Anne, who worked two jobs to make enough money to support her daughter's athletic career.[Halloran, Jessica (7 June 2008]
"Hurdles a way of life for Sally"
''Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
''. Retrieved on 7 September 2009. In late 2008 she became engaged to Kieran Pearson, the pair having been together since their senior year at Helensvale State High School
Helensvale High School is a public secondary school located in the suburb of Helensvale on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the corner of Discovery Drive and Helensvale Road. The school first opened in 1990 with Rod Cassid ...
on Queensland's Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
.[Grant, Dwayne (24 January 2008]
"Sally's story"
goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved on 7 September 2009 In April 2010 they married on the Gold Coast, and had their honeymoon in Los Angeles and Hawaii.
Achievements
Personal bests
* 100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
– 11.14 secs (2007)
* 200 metres
The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...
– 22.97 secs (2015)
* 100 metres hurdles
The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten Hurdling, hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first h ...
– 12.28 secs (2011) (eighth fastest time in history)
Records
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Sally
1986 births
Living people
Sportspeople from the Gold Coast, Queensland
Sportswomen from New South Wales
Sportswomen from Queensland
Athletes from Sydney
Australian female hurdlers
Australian female sprinters
Olympic athletes of Australia
Olympic gold medalists for Australia
Olympic silver medalists for Australia
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia
World Athletics Championships medalists
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
World Athletics Championships winners
Diamond League winners
World Athletics Indoor Championships winners
IAAF Continental Cup winners