Pearson shows off new style in Adelaide
Olympic champion Sally Pearson has taken her first steps in an experiment she hopes will rid her of injury problems.
Pearson unveiled a tinkered technique when streeting the field in the 100 metres at the Adelaide Track Classic on Saturday night, before also cruising to a 200m triumph.
Pearson has been working on slight style changes hoping to prevent a repeat of last year, when she twice tore a hamstring.
“It’s simply just how I plant my feet on the track and how I bring them through on my cycle while I’m running,” Pearson said.
“It also prevents hamstring strains as well because you’re using your glutes a lot more than your hamstrings, so that is one of the things that we’re really focussing on.
“As you know last year, with the two hamstring tears, we’re trying to prevent the same thing happening again.”
Pearson clocked 11.35 seconds, a qualifying time for this year’s Commonwealth Games, in an emphatic 100m win at Adelaide’s Santos Stadium and later won the 200m in 23.18s.
With shallow competition in the absence of new 100m national record holder Mel Breen, who opted to miss the meet, Pearson used the races as experiments for her style alterations.
“The main thing I came here to focus on was my technique during the race and I got that not 100 per cent but probably 85 to 95 per cent there, which I was really happy about,” she said.
The Queenslander will race Breen again over 100m in Perth next Saturday, where Pearson will also contest a hurdles race for the first time this domestic season.
Meanwhile in Adelaide, javelin throwers Kathryn Mitchell and world championship silver medallist Kim Mickle both qualified for this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Mickle, in her first competition this year, threw a whopping 66.12m – the third best effort ever by an Australian woman and a world-best mark this year.
And Mitchell logged a best of 66.10m, easily eclipsing the Commonwealth Games’ qualifying mark of 60m.