byLarry Eder
Sally Pearson has spent 2011showing the hurdling community that she is the best in the world. She reinforced that tonight, as she gave a hurdling clinic to the world. Hurdling ten barriers flawlessly, Sally Pearson ran the fastest time for the 100 meter hurdles since the year 2000, and the Sydney Olympics! Danielle Carruthers took the silver, and Dawn Harper took the bronze, with both scoring personal bests.
This is how we saw it:
How do you describe perfection?
Sally Pearson of Australia had the best start of the field, and executed flawlessly, hurdling ten barriers and sprinting through the tape, running 12.28, a new championship record and the fastest time in nearly eleven years. After the race, Sally told our Gary Morgan: “I focused on the race. I saw yellow in the crowd and I ran towards it.
Championships are what matter. World Records are nice, but championships
are what I want. I do not feel any pressure since the Aussies had not
won a gold medal. I was relaxed after the semis, I wanted a PB in the
final.”
In second, fighting through to the end, Danielle Carruthers took the silver medal in a personal best of 12.47. Carruthers had a breakthru year in 2011, as the 32 year old has won some of the top races in the world as well as taking second in the US championships. After the race, Carruthers told Gary Morgan: “It has been a long road from where I started three years ago when I wanted to quit. I decided to
stay in because I have friends who wanted to help me. I had to grow up.
I work in the mornings and train in the afternoons. I am proud of my
self today because I got a pb today.”
In third position, Dawn Harper, the 2008 Olympic champion, ran her personal best, running a strong race, and getting caught by Danielle Carruthers over the last two hurdles. Harper, a tough competitor if there ever was one, told Gary Morgan the following: ” I was really excited. I wanted hardware. I do not want to be known as the girl who won the Olympics and was not to be heard from again.”
This evening belonged to Sally Pearson. Pearson, who ran her first hurdle race at the age of fifteen, fell in those finals. ” I got up and was not discouraged, I have concentrated on the hurdles ever since.”
Tonight though, Sally Pearson, after the race, was pretty introspective for a women who just won the World Championships. This is how she ended her comments with Gary Morgan:
“I really appreciative of what I did tonight. I am really grateful. Tonight was the best experience ever. Going to Europe to run some races, hopefully this will give more support for the Aussie team with me taking a gold medal.”
It should be mentioned that Tiffany Porter of Great Britain had a medal sewn up until the final two hurdles, where she had some trouble. Her time was 12.63. In fifth, Tatyana Dektyareva of Russia ran 12.82. In sixth, Nikkita Holder of Canada ran 1.293. And in seventh, Phylicia George of Canada ran 17.97. Kellie Wells of the US, crashed into the track about the middle of the race, and did not finish.
In sports mad Australia, a World Championship gold medal is just what the doctor ordered. Congrats once again to all three medalists for putting on such a tremendous show!
