Rawlinson makes a comeback in Perth
Source: Agencies |
April 1, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AUSTRALIA'S twice world champion hurdler Jana Rawlinson makes her return to competitive action at the Perth Track Classic this week in a bid to stage a comeback for next year's London Olympics.
The 28-year-old, 400 meters hurdles world champion in 2003 and 2007, has not raced competitively in Australia since winning gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
A self-confessed drama queen, Rawlinson has never been far away from controversy, most famously her "cat fight" with teammate Tamsyn Lewis before that triumph in Melbourne, which led to her being reprimanded.
More recently she has hit the headlines for divorcing and then remarrying British athlete Chris Rawlinson and having breast implants removed because they impeded her running.
When injury-free, however, there has never been any doubting her athletic talent.
Fancied
A world junior champion, she won her first senior world title in Paris and was strongly fancied to win gold at the Athens Olympics before a knee injury ruined her chances.
She underwent surgery a week before the 2004 Games and could manage only fifth in the final, competing under her maiden name Pittman.
A back injury forced her to miss the 2005 world championships in Helsinki but she claimed her second world crown in Osaka in 2007 just eight months after giving birth. A toe injury ruled her out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, however, and a bulging disk in her back robbed her of a chance to defend her world title in Berlin a year later.
Now reunited with her former coach Phil King, Rawlinson has targeted this year's world championships in South Korea as a stepping stone to fulfilling her Olympic dream in London.
Australian head coach Eric Hollingsworth was confident she would be able to compete again at the highest level.
"Given 18 months without injury and Jana will certainly be among the gold medal favorites in London," he said.
"She looks very well, fit and healthy and more importantly, she looks happy and she is enjoying her training.
"The event hasn't moved on since Jana's time. I could pretty much say right now that if she ran 53.3 in the Olympics final, that would get her a medal," he added.
The 28-year-old, 400 meters hurdles world champion in 2003 and 2007, has not raced competitively in Australia since winning gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
A self-confessed drama queen, Rawlinson has never been far away from controversy, most famously her "cat fight" with teammate Tamsyn Lewis before that triumph in Melbourne, which led to her being reprimanded.
More recently she has hit the headlines for divorcing and then remarrying British athlete Chris Rawlinson and having breast implants removed because they impeded her running.
When injury-free, however, there has never been any doubting her athletic talent.
Fancied
A world junior champion, she won her first senior world title in Paris and was strongly fancied to win gold at the Athens Olympics before a knee injury ruined her chances.
She underwent surgery a week before the 2004 Games and could manage only fifth in the final, competing under her maiden name Pittman.
A back injury forced her to miss the 2005 world championships in Helsinki but she claimed her second world crown in Osaka in 2007 just eight months after giving birth. A toe injury ruled her out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, however, and a bulging disk in her back robbed her of a chance to defend her world title in Berlin a year later.
Now reunited with her former coach Phil King, Rawlinson has targeted this year's world championships in South Korea as a stepping stone to fulfilling her Olympic dream in London.
Australian head coach Eric Hollingsworth was confident she would be able to compete again at the highest level.
"Given 18 months without injury and Jana will certainly be among the gold medal favorites in London," he said.
"She looks very well, fit and healthy and more importantly, she looks happy and she is enjoying her training.
"The event hasn't moved on since Jana's time. I could pretty much say right now that if she ran 53.3 in the Olympics final, that would get her a medal," he added.
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