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Jana Rawlinson pulls out of Beijing Olympic Games
SCOTT GULLAN | July 09, 2008 06:00pm
JANA Rawlinson is out of the Beijing Olympics, after complications with a toe injury forced her into the heart-breaking decision.
Complications with the injury has brought an end to Rawlinson's Olympic campaign.
It is a sad case of deja vu for the 25-year-old who suffered a knee injury on the eve of the Athens Olympics four years ago which effectively ruined her chances of gold.
Rawlinson has been plagued by problems since having the toe operation back in January.
The reigning world 400m hurdles world champion finally appeared to be back on track last week when she raced for the first time in nine months in Poland.
Unfortunately, in the days following the race her body broke down again, forcing her to abandon her Olympic dreams.
Before tonight’s setback Jana Rawlinson was seen as being in box seat for Olympic gold.
This came as her top challenger Russia's 400m hurdles world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina, fell by the wayside as she battled a heart problem.
The news comes a week after American Lashinda Demus, who had clocked the fastest time in the world this year, missed selection at the US Olympic trials.
The prospect appeared to be a major break for Rawlinson, who was racing against time to be ready for Beijing following complications with her injured toe.
She resumed racing in Poland last week and importantly pulled up well.
Her next hit-out was due to be at the Rome Golden League meeting on Friday night.
Pechonkina's coach Valentin Maslakov, who is also the Russian head coach, hinted his 30-year-old charge may be forced into retirement.
“I don't think she'll be able to recover in time and compete in Beijing,'' Maslakov said.
“She started having health problems in April. She first had sinusitis, then, which is much serious, heart problems.''
Pechonkina finished second behind Rawlinson at last year's world championships in Osaka, Japan.
The pair have enjoyed a healthy rivalry over the past five years, beginning at the 2003 world championships when the then 20-year-old Australian stunned Pechonkina to win the gold medal, just weeks after the Russian had set the world record (52.34sec).
Pechonkina had a meltdown the following year at the Athens Olympics and finished last in the final, which was won by Greek hurdler Fani Halkia.
Rawlinson finished fifth after suffering a knee injury just a couple of weeks before the Games.
With the Australian out of the picture because of injury, Pechonkina claimed the 2005 world title in Helsinki.
Demus and Christine Spence, who were No.1 and No. 3 in the world rankings this year, finished outside the automatic qualifiers at the cut-throat US trials, ruling them out of Beijing. Tiffany Ross-Williams won the trial in 54.03sec.
Rawlinson’s pullout leaves Poland's Anna Jesien, whom she finished behind (55.94sec), in her comeback race last week, as the main contender.
Jesien, who won the race at the European Athletics Festival in Bydgoszcz in 54.86sec, won the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles at last year's world championships.
The bonus for Rawlinson is that last year she also had an indifferent preparation following the birth of her son, Cornelis.
Her times improved dramatically right before the world championships, where she went on to dominate.
Rawlinson had planned to race three times over the next three weeks, culminating at the London Grand Prix on July 25-26, before preparing for the Games in Japan.
Rawlinson recently had a good result in her comeback race in Poland, running second. And her compaign appeared to get a further boost today when her main rival, Russia's 400m hurdles world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina, pulled out due to a heart problem.
SCOTT GULLAN | July 09, 2008 06:00pm
JANA Rawlinson is out of the Beijing Olympics, after complications with a toe injury forced her into the heart-breaking decision.
Complications with the injury has brought an end to Rawlinson's Olympic campaign.
It is a sad case of deja vu for the 25-year-old who suffered a knee injury on the eve of the Athens Olympics four years ago which effectively ruined her chances of gold.
Rawlinson has been plagued by problems since having the toe operation back in January.
The reigning world 400m hurdles world champion finally appeared to be back on track last week when she raced for the first time in nine months in Poland.
Unfortunately, in the days following the race her body broke down again, forcing her to abandon her Olympic dreams.
Before tonight’s setback Jana Rawlinson was seen as being in box seat for Olympic gold.
This came as her top challenger Russia's 400m hurdles world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina, fell by the wayside as she battled a heart problem.
The news comes a week after American Lashinda Demus, who had clocked the fastest time in the world this year, missed selection at the US Olympic trials.
The prospect appeared to be a major break for Rawlinson, who was racing against time to be ready for Beijing following complications with her injured toe.
She resumed racing in Poland last week and importantly pulled up well.
Her next hit-out was due to be at the Rome Golden League meeting on Friday night.
Pechonkina's coach Valentin Maslakov, who is also the Russian head coach, hinted his 30-year-old charge may be forced into retirement.
“I don't think she'll be able to recover in time and compete in Beijing,'' Maslakov said.
“She started having health problems in April. She first had sinusitis, then, which is much serious, heart problems.''
Pechonkina finished second behind Rawlinson at last year's world championships in Osaka, Japan.
The pair have enjoyed a healthy rivalry over the past five years, beginning at the 2003 world championships when the then 20-year-old Australian stunned Pechonkina to win the gold medal, just weeks after the Russian had set the world record (52.34sec).
Pechonkina had a meltdown the following year at the Athens Olympics and finished last in the final, which was won by Greek hurdler Fani Halkia.
Rawlinson finished fifth after suffering a knee injury just a couple of weeks before the Games.
With the Australian out of the picture because of injury, Pechonkina claimed the 2005 world title in Helsinki.
Demus and Christine Spence, who were No.1 and No. 3 in the world rankings this year, finished outside the automatic qualifiers at the cut-throat US trials, ruling them out of Beijing. Tiffany Ross-Williams won the trial in 54.03sec.
Rawlinson’s pullout leaves Poland's Anna Jesien, whom she finished behind (55.94sec), in her comeback race last week, as the main contender.
Jesien, who won the race at the European Athletics Festival in Bydgoszcz in 54.86sec, won the bronze medal in the 400m hurdles at last year's world championships.
The bonus for Rawlinson is that last year she also had an indifferent preparation following the birth of her son, Cornelis.
Her times improved dramatically right before the world championships, where she went on to dominate.
Rawlinson had planned to race three times over the next three weeks, culminating at the London Grand Prix on July 25-26, before preparing for the Games in Japan.
Rawlinson recently had a good result in her comeback race in Poland, running second. And her compaign appeared to get a further boost today when her main rival, Russia's 400m hurdles world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina, pulled out due to a heart problem.
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