Women's 100m Hurdles - PREVIEW

World leader Sally Pearson is determined to atone for the huge disappointment of not getting a 100 Hurdles medal at the last Championships when injury played a decisive part in destroying her chances.

The then-Miss McLellan - she married in April last year - nursing what was later diagnosed as a torn disc in her lower back, battled through the two qualifying rounds in great pain but in the final saw her body fall apart and finished a frustrated fifth.

Quite simply Pearson who in 2009 had enjoyed a brilliant build up including another Oceania record of 12.50 a few weeks beforehand was a spent force in the final when failing to claim what would have been Australia's first ever World medal of any colour in the event.

The previous year's Olympic silver medallist quickly drifted away behind her rivals as Brigitte Foster-Hilton added to her 2003 silver in Paris and the bronze medal she won two years later, to become Jamaica's first ever 100m Hurdles champion.

Now the 24-year-old after the lowest point in her career is adamant she can come up trumps and will arrive in Daegu as pre-race favourite after a whirlwind late start to her Samsung Diamond League campaign that has seen her win in all three outings.

Pearson after her her arrival on European soil and after her best ever season in Australia's own downunder summer, immediately impressed when in windy conditions beating the USA's Danielle Carruthers and Great Britain's Tiffany Ofili-Porter in Lausanne on 30 June.

Then 10 days later in in Birmingham she lowered her Area record for the sixth successive time when roaring to the fastest time in the world this year of 12.48 again ahead of Carruthers and her fellow countrywoman Ginnie Crawford.

Her final SDL appearance and most significant victory saw the Commonwealth champion on her favourite track in Monaco once again assert her authority over Kellie Wells who had placed sixth and fourth in their two previous encounters on the worldwide tour and finished second with Ofili-Porter who was again third.

Pearson on this occasion saw the USA champion who had preceded her as world leader when winning her first national title in Eugene at the end of June with a clocking of 12.50 in much better shape, but again destroyed her with a winning margin of 0.07sec and time of 12.51.

The Aussie in her very last outing completed her preparations for South Korea when running a 12.55 heat followed by victory in the final in the non-SDL race at the Aviva London Grand Prix on 6 August ahead of Carruthers and Ofili-Porter.

Pearson despite her undoubted superiority knows with timing and balance over the hurdles imperative, she cannot take anything for granted in Daegu where not only Wells and Carruthers will pose serious threats but also the highly experienced Olympic champion Dawn Harper.

Harper whose season's best is 12.58 when winning her semi final at the US Championships then third behind Wells and Carruthers in the final, knows how costly a mistake can be. In Berlin she smashed into the first two hurdles which ruined her hopes of victory and relegated her to seventh position.

Now the 27-year-old who apart from triumphing at Rome's SDL meet in May has had a fairly low key summer will be very eager to make amends for her downfall in the German capital two years ago.

Foster-Hylton will also defend her title with little form to her name since that success and only  a season's best of 12.99 in May. But her participation suggests she is eager to add to the three medals already in her possession. However veteran bronze and 1999 medallist Delloreen Ennis-London is not included in the Jamaican squad.

Priscilla Lopes-Schliep runner up behind Foster-Hylton and last year's overall SDL champion is also a non-starter. Canada's Olympic bronze medallist is expecting a baby next month. However her teammate Perdita Felicien will be a strong challenger for a medal.

Felicen who won the 2003 gold medal and the following year's World Indoor 60m Hurdles title is another to have had an indifferent season recording sixth place finishes in the Rome and New York SDL legs. Her fastest of 12.73 was posted in early June but the 30-year-old in her sixth successive World Championships appearance can never be overlooked.

David Martin for the IAAF