Jana Rawlinson AIS bound
- 7th October 2008
DUAL world athletics champion Jana Rawlinson believes a move to Canberra's Australian Institute of Sport will give her the best chance of staying injury-free ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Rawlinson, who pulled out of the Beijing Games with a toe injury, said she needed better access to medical staff and regular hands-on attention, prompting her to pack up her family in Sydney and set up base at the nation's capital.
Rawlinson blamed a lack of medical advice when she returned from having surgery to the second toe on her right foot for derailing her Beijing dream.
She said her stride had changed following the surgery, which in turn saw an Achilles tendon flare up and her plantar fascia, the band on the bottom of her foot, injured.
"We need a monitoring system in place to stop this happening again," Rawlinson said.
"It's just ridiculous that someone at a top level could let themselves go by the wayside and didn't follow a full plan of recovery because I was so eager to get to the (Olympic) Games rather than take the time that was needed.
"So therefore, I need very very close guidance when it comes to preparation in the future."
Rawlinson said missing the Beijing Games was "the most horrific thing" that she had gone through and was committed to returning to the track without the pressure of performing at an international standard.
"For the last three or four years it's always been about winning gold medals at world championships and I want to come back and say "Why does Jana Rawlinson do what I do?'" she said.
"It's because I love to run at the track, it's because I love to get out there with the kids. I just really want to be involved at the base level again.
"Just to hear the start gun; I heard it once this whole year and I'm sick of sitting out and watching everyone else enjoy their athletics and make a national team.
"I just want to love what I do again ... and not be dictated to by whether you win a race or run a quick time.
"I can't remember when I actually really enjoyed a race."
- © AAP
