News29 Aug 2003


Pittman takes a Rocky path to gold

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Jana Pittman after winning the 400m hurdles at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris (© Getty Images)

Many athletes are creatures of habit and ritual, and Jana Pittman is no exception. Her routine includes watching motivational videos. Nothing too sophisticated. Her selected viewing before the women's 400 metres hurdles final in the Stade de France was Rocky IV.

"That's the one in which he beats the Russian, of course," she said.

How appropriate.

The 20-year-old Pittman could afford to be flipant, for she had just run the fastest time of her life and snatched the biggest upset victory of these World Championships, upstaging Yulia Pechonkina, the Russian who had set a World record of 52.34 seconds just 20 days earlier in Tula. Last night she clocked 53.71.

A unique double winner of both World junior titles at 400m, flat and hurdles, and Commonwealth 400m hurdles champion at 19 years-old last year, she demonstrated her greatest prodigy to date when she came home in 53.22, with Sandra Glover of the USA taking silver (53.65) at the age of 34 in her third World final.

"I'm the oldest lady on the panel, and still running fast," she said. "I'm truly grateful for finishing second."

Pechonkina was bitterly disappointed. She suffers from a rare disorder which causes her blood pressure to fluctuate when the weather changes. When the air pressure drops, her blood pressure soars, causing her to suffer several tiny strokes. The first of these came early this year, and she has been warned not to run at all. She is on permanent medication, but when a low front came in during Thursday, the 25-year-old Pechonkina knew she was in trouble.

"I usually react very strongly to changes of climate," she said, explaining that she had had, "a very strong headache, and this meant I couldn't run as well as I expected to. In the end my legs just gave up."

Fastest away, she held an eight-metre lead at the eighth of the ten flights, and looked unstoppable, but then she faltered. She was still half a stride up off the last, but by then Pittman and America's Sandra Glover were closing fast. Pittman's 2.30-metre stride ate up the ground, and in Pechonkina's 21 strides to the line, she slipped inexorably backwards.

"This is an absolute dream come true, especially at such a young age. I've had ups and downs throughout the season, but managed to find some consistency and energy at the right moment.

"I was concentrating on my own race, and knew it had to be a tactical race. I also knew Pechonkina was going to be far ahead of us all after 200, but I noticed at the ninth hurdle that she was within my reach.

"Now I'm really excited about my next two races in Brussels and Monaco - the World Athletics Final - I'll try and improve my personal best there."

She said she still had a lot to learn, and ominously promised that she would be even better next year at the Olympics.

"I will be as different an athlete next year as I was this year," she pomised, but acknowledged: I was way over the odds tonight."

Her only frustration was missing by .05sec the Australian record of Debbie Flintoff-King who won Olympic gold in Seoul 15 years ago.

Pittman's partner is Rohan Robinson, the 1996 Olympic finallist in the men's event, and Aussie record-holder.

He was confident she would win, but did not shout for her in case he distracted her. Until the seventh hurdle. Then he could not contain himself, and let out a mighty yell.

"I knew she would be difficult to beat," he said. "When it comes to slugging it out in the home straight, Jana is as tough as they come." 

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