After 16 years of being on the Australian team it's time to hang up the spikes, every time I want to go fast the body doesn't want to. So I don't think I could take anymore injuries and I have huge doubts for the next year for me to be able to continue at the level that I expect of myself ...

Sally Pearson

Categorized in : Sports

If you hold back in hurdles, you are going to fall over.

Sally Pearson

hurdle hurdling-obstacles fall

When it becomes hard for me not to eat bad food, I try to think about what I have to do and what is ahead of me and what I want to achieve.

Sally Pearson

want trying thinking

Some people are used to having things done for them by her parents, I am not. I can do it myself.

Sally Pearson

parent done people

My goals were last year to win the world champs and this year to win the Olympic Games and I've done that and I couldn't be happier.

Sally Pearson

games winning years

It's always, 'Are you the runner girl?' I say, 'My name is Sally actually.' I used to always get that at school as well, 'Are you the runner girl?' I'm not even the runner girl, I'm a hurdler.

Sally Pearson

girl names school

Winning a gold medal is not easy but I believed in myself, especially over the last four years.

Sally Pearson

gold winning years

I never let anything stop me from doing what I want to do.

Sally Pearson

want

Hurdling, sprinting, athletics in general, is always in the back of your mind.

Sally Pearson

hurdle athletics mind

My job is my sport so I have to make sure that I stay focussed on it. I train almost every day so it takes up a lot of my life and you don't want to bring any new distractions into your life.

Sally Pearson

want jobs sports

Being at school, being who I am, being an athlete, it was hard to find people like me. There's not many athletes that can be at my level. That was kind of hard finding people who love something so much they want to keep on doing it.

Sally Pearson

who-i-am athlete school

I know who my dad is, I've met him a few times, but I don't even call him dad. I know it sounds horrible, but I don't even see him as part of my family, to be honest. If you want the truth, it doesn't bother me because I don't know any different. I just know that me and my mum, that was my family.

Sally Pearson

dad sound want

I have a huge passion for animals and while retirement is a long way off, when I do I would love to do something with animals.

Sally Pearson

passion animal retirement

But I'm after medals more than anything. Championships don't get taken away from you but records do, so I think I'd rather have medals at every championships rather than times. A world record would be a bonus, but I'm still only 25 in 17 days.

Sally Pearson

taken would-be thinking

Coming over to Europe you can always put on weight really easily because you are not doing your normal routine at home. It is just a bit more discipline and not eating breads and pastas which are my favourite foods in the entire world.

Sally Pearson

discipline home europe

I'm really hard on myself as well, nothing is good enough for me in training. I always want more, I always want to give 100%. I use my training like a competition. I imagine these two girls next to me every time single time I'm going over those hurdles in training.

Sally Pearson

workout girl motivational

I imagine these two girls next to me every time single time I'm going over those hurdles in training.

Sally Pearson

girl motivational two

Not a lot of people know me outside of athletics and believe it or not I am actually quite shy. The exhilaration of a win or tears after falling are the extremes. It takes me a while to get to know someone, but once I do I am very loyal to my old friends.

Sally Pearson

winning believe fall

The way I ran at nationals was a relief more than anything, i've been trying to change my race a bit, especially my start, working toward getting it back to the good old days in 2011 and 2012 where I was the best starter in the world, and( until Brisbane) my start had been a bit off this year.

Sally Pearson

sports