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Sally Pearson

Personal information
Nationality	Australia
Born	(1986-09-19) 19 September 1986 (age 38) Sydney, Australia
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb)
Website	Official Facebook Page
Sport
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	100 metres sprint 100 metres hurdles
Coached by	Sharon Hannan
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	100m hurdles-2008
Personal best(s)	11.14s–100 Metre Sprint 12.28s–100 m Hurdles 1:02.98–400 m Hurdles
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Australia Olympic Games 2012 London 100 m hurdles 2008 Beijing 100 m hurdles World Championships 2011 Daegu 100 m hurdles World Indoor Athletics Championships 2012 Istanbul 60 m hurdles Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi 100 m hurdles 2006 Melbourne 4×100 m relay Continental Cup 2010 Split 100 m hurdles World Junior Championships 2004 Grosseto 100 m World Youth Championships 2003 Sherbrooke 100 m hurdles

Sally Pearson (née McLellan) (born 19 September 1986) is an Australian athlete. She is the 2011 World champion and 2012 Olympic champion in the 100 metres hurdles. She also won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Athletic career

She was born in Sydney and moved to the Gold Coast when she was eight years old. It was there, while she was still in primary school, that her athletic talents were noticed by Sharon Hannan, who remains her coach to this day. Pearson rose to prominence in 2001, when at the age of only 14, she won the Australian under-20 100m title. After injury setbacks during 2002 she made her international debut at the 2003 World Youth Championships in Sherbrooke, Canada and won gold 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 x 100 m relay team. In 2004 she won a bronze 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 in Melbourne, Australia, 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 in Osaka, 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 stumbled and a photo finish 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, 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 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 in Berlin, and was only able to finish fifth in the 100 m hurdles final.

   iv'e got swag    hi mum

2011 World Championships

At the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, 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, 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.

Female athlete of the year

In November 2011 the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) awarded Pearson as the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year. She is the first Australian to receive this award. Pearson also received prizemoney of A$ 98,800 ($US100,000).

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. In late 2008 she became engaged to Kieran Pearson, the pair having been together since their senior year at Helensvale State High School on Queensland's Gold Coast. In April 2010 they married on the Gold Coast, and honeymooned in Los Angeles and Hawaii.

Achievements

Personal bests

• 100 metres – 11.14 s (2007)
• 200 metres – 23.02 s (2012)
• 100 metres hurdles – 12.28 s (2011)

Notes

1. ^ “Athlete Profiles-Sally Pearson”, Athletics Australia, 2010, Retrieved on 2010-10-08
2. ^ Biography: Sally Pearson” International Association of Athletics Federations, Retrieved on 2010-10-08
3. ^ Halloran, Jessica (2008-06-07) "Hurdles a way of life for Sally" Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2009-09-07.
4. Gullan, Scott (2008-08-20). "Silver Sally ran her own race". The Australian. Retrieved on 2009-09-07.
5. “Athlete Profiles-Sally Pearson-Sporting Career”, Athletics Australia, 2010, Retrieved on 2010-10-08
6. Turner, Chris (2009-07-28). "Hurdlers delight on a spectacular evening in Monaco – Area record for McLellan". IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.
7. Gullan, Scott (2009-08-20). "Sally Pearson fifth in women's 100m hurdles in Berlin". The Australian. Retrieved on 2009-09-07.
8. "Pearson wins female athlete of the year". SMH. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
9. Grant, Dwayne (2008-01-24) "Sally's story". goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved on 2009-09-07
10. Lewis, David (2010-10-01) "Duo overcome hurdles for Games gold". goldcoast.com.au. Retrieved on 2010-10-08

External links

• Sally Pearson at World Athletics
• Athletics Australia Profile-Sally Pearson
• Official Facebook Page-Sally Pearson

Awards
Preceded by Blanka Vlašić	IAAF World Athlete of the Year 2011	Succeeded byIncumbent

Template:Persondata

• 1986 births
• Living people
• Australian hurdlers
• Australian sprinters
• Olympic athletes of Australia
• Olympic silver medalists for Australia
• Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
• Sportswomen from Sydney
• Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
• Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
• Female hurdlers
• Female sprinters
• Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
• Olympic gold medalists for Australia
• Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
• Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia