Jana Pittman (© Getty Images)
From her new base in Melbourne, Australia, double Commonwealth champion Jana Pittman, a regular contributor to the IAAF Online diaries, will once again share with us her daily activities in a year which will see her taking part in her first World Championships in Athletics.
“Everything is ticking along quite well here in Australia. I still miss Europe and the hype of international running but "team Pittman", which is what everyone involved in my Olympic campaign calls us, is running very smoothly. I must say the best news at the moment is a new addition to my little family.
“I got a gorgeous boxer puppy for Christmas called Cassius, named of course after Mohammed Ali. It has attended all track sessions and at 8 weeks old I am proud to say has already mastered 4 laps warm up with me, each lap drifting further and further behind, a star in the making.
“The move to Melbourne has proved to be brilliant, my new coach Phil King is outstanding and so passionate about what we’re doing, although he can be very tough too. What’s also great is that Debbie Flintoff King joins in at least 3 sessions a week. It’s not every day you get to train with one of your idols.
“It’s been 14 years since her Olympic gold and she’s as fit as a fiddle, I reckon she would still break 60 seconds for the quarter hurdles, pretty impressive.
“Lastly a little embarrassing news, I had my first official crash at training. I was half way through an effort from start to 8th hurdle when I decided it was better to go under the 6th than over it. I lost all the skin on my tummy, both arms, nose, forehead and shins as well as most of my pride. But I am proud to say it did more damage to the hurdle than it did to me, breaking it in half and leaving a sizable hole in the track. Well enough from me, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy New Year, until next time.”
Jana Pittman