Australian Olympic and world 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson drew another blank on her comeback from injury when finishing third at a meeting in the northern French city of Rouen on Monday.
AFP/Paris
Australian Olympic and world 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson drew another blank on her comeback from injury when finishing third at a meeting in the northern French city of Rouen on Monday.
But Cuba’s 2008 Olympic champion in the men’s 110m hurdles, Dayron Robles, signalled his growing return to form with victory in his race.
Pearson clocked 12.76sec in finishing third behind American duo Yvette Lewis (12.72) and Kristi Castlin (12.74), far from the 12.28sec she raced when winning gold at the 2011 world championships in Daegu.
It was at least an improvement on her seventh-placed finish at the Lausanne Diamond League meet last week.
Robles was left in a buoyant state after winning in 13.18sec.
“I’m very happy because my recent races have been really bad,” said the Guantanamo native.
“I’m coming back into form and I’ve worked a lot for that. Dayron’s back!” Robles added: “Now anything is possible, even going under 13sec.
“But I have to work. I need to run and then run some more.
Meanwhile, Olympic long-jump silver medallist Mitchell Watt on Tuesday pulled out of the Moscow world championships after an injury-plagued build-up.
The Australian said his preparation was not good enough to compete at the championships in the Russian capital from August 10-18.
“I have been battling ankle and Achilles pain across my early season and this has caused continued trouble for me in practice and competition,” said the 25-year-old, who jumped 8.16 metres at the London Olympics for silver behind winner Greg Rutherford from Britain.
“I’m not someone that just wants to show up at an event and given these circumstances I will not be 100% competitive this season and need more time to overcome the issue.”