Pearson eyes 100m hurdles world record

Her resume may be impressive but Sally Pearson is hell bent on filling what she believes is a glaring omission - the women's 100m hurdles world record.

Not that she will be working too hard on that in the next two months.

Gold Coast-based Pearson touched down in Brisbane on Saturday relishing the prospect of a well-earned eight-week break on the tourist strip with her London Olympic gold medal safely tucked away in her carry-on luggage.

The only looming commitments for Australia's golden girl are Olympic homecoming parades in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast along with a mooted AFL grand final appearance after opting to pull out of Europe's lucrative Diamond League circuit.

However, Pearson's steely determination still flickered in her eyes on Saturday when asked how she could possibly top her London Olympic heroics.

"The only thing left is the world record," she said.

Pearson clocked an Olympic record 12.35sec to narrowly claim Games gold - just outside Yordanka Donkova's 1988 world mark of 12.21.

And she believed it was a matter of when, not if, she would clock the fastest women's 100m hurdles time ever seen.

"Definitely," she said.

"(But) I don't have the pressure any more. I have won every single title that I could.

"I have won all four - world title, world indoor, Commonwealth Games and now the Olympics, I am really excited about that.

"But the thing that has driven me is the love for my sport. I love what I do.

"I am going to keep going. I want more and more and more."

Officially Pearson has clocked off from athletics but she still couldn't help herself, checking the overnight Diamond League 100m hurdles results in Sweden when she touched down in Brisbane.

"It is a bit disappointing I couldn't finish off the season but at the same time it is nice to be home early," she said.

"Of the future I don't know what to expect but I am so excited and relieved that the job (in London) is over.

"Right now it is about realising what I have achieved. I don't think I will until my first race when I am introduced as the Olympic champion - that will probably be the most exciting thing.

"Beijing (silver) was a lot more exciting for me, this one was more relief.

"I worked really hard to win that gold. It is easier to grasp because that is what I went out there to do."

For now Pearson's gameplan is simple - get home to husband Kieren and her beloved dogs Oscar and Toby.

"I know that sounds boring but ..I haven't thought about anything more than getting home and into bed with my dogs around me," she laughed.

Overall Medal Count

Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States 46 29 29 104
2 China 38 27 23 88
3 Great Britain 29 17 19 65
4 Russia 24 26 32 82
5 South Korea 13 8 7 28
6 Germany 11 19 14 44
7 France 11 11 12 34
15 New Zealand 6 2 5 13

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