Australia’s world champion hurdler Jana Rawlinson yesterday said she had ruled herself out of next month’s Beijing Olympics because of a toe injury.
“I’m very upset because the Olympic Games has always been a dream of mine, but I’m trying to remain positive and I’m looking beyond the Olympics to other challenges,” she said.
Rawlinson’s career has been beset by injury setbacks. She won the world championship final last August on just 11 weeks of preparation, carrying a painful toe injury and just eight months after giving birth to her son.
PHOTO: AP
At the 2004 Athens Olympics she reached the final just days after knee surgery, and came in fifth place.
Rawlinson said she had exhausted all medical options before coming to the conclusion that the culmination of injuries meant she would be unable to compete in Beijing, the Australian Associated Press news agency reported.
“I haven’t been able to train for more than two days straight over the past 26 weeks, so I’m not arrogant enough to think that on the basis I’d be able to compete at the Olympics,” she said.
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