Sally Pearson, one of Australia’s greatest Olympians, has announced her retirement.
Congratulations to Sally Pearson on An incredible career, spanning across 16 years. The Olympic, World and Commonwealth Champion was Undeniably an impressive competitor, a fearless champion, and a momentous role model for young athletes across Australia.
The sixth fastest hurdler in history, Sally Pearson (then McLellan) burst onto the scene in 2003 as a 16-year-old winning the World Youth 100m hurdles title. A month later she made her first Australian senior team and was part of the 4x100m relay team at the world championships in Paris.
At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne Sally spectacularly fell during the 100m hurdles final. Despite being battered and bruised, she bravely turned up the following day and guided Australia to a bronze medal in the 4x100m relay.
In 2011 the Queenslander became the first Australian to be named the IAAF Female World Athlete of the Year. Her near-perfect results saw her claim 15 of the 16 100m hurdles races she competed in throughout that year, including the 2011 World Championship in a time of 12.28s.
Sally Career highlights include;
- Olympic Gold Medalist (2012 in 100m Hurdles)
- Olympic Silver Medalist (2008 in 100m Hurdles)
- Olympic Record holder (12.35 in 100m hurdles, set in 2012)
- Oceania Area Record (12.28 in 100m Hurdles, set in 2011)
- 2 x World Championships Gold medals (2011 & 2017 in 100m Hurdles)
- World Indoor Championships gold medallist (2012 in 60m hurdles)
- 2 x Commonwealth Games gold medals (2010 & 2014 in 100m hurdles)
- 16-time Australian champion (100m, 200m and 100m hurdles)
- Australian record holder (12.28 in 100m hurdles, set in 2011)
In a statement, Pearson said she had battled a “series of leg injuries, six in total” while preparing for next month’s world championships in Qatar.
“I have prided myself on always being on the start line, ready to win. I no longer believe I can achieve this,” she said.
“It is, therefore, with much regret that I have concluded that it is time to retire from this phase of my life and move on to the next.”
Thank you, Sally, and we wish you all the best for your future endeavours.
