Olympic 100 metres hurdles cham-pion Sally Pearson has turned to former assistant coach Antony Drinkwater-Newman to take her back to the top after dumping long-time mentor Sharon Hannan last week.

Pearson presented Drinkwater-Newman, an assistant to Hannan from 2006-11, to Athletics Australia (AA) head coach Eric Hollingsworth on Friday, two days after announcing her split with her former coach of 14 years.

“Antony and I have trained together over many years in the same squad and also while he was Sharon’s assistant,” Pearson said in a media release yesterday.

“I was excited by the fresh ideas that Antony has developed and I know that we work well together.

“Antony will be able to train beside me and that will be special. He is the logical choice for me and I am really keen to resume training shortly.”

Since returning to training after a break following her Olympic triumph, the 27-year-old has struggled with hamstring injuries and surrendered her world title to American Brianna Rollins in Moscow in August.

Pearson, the IAAF’s female athlete of the year in 2011, said she expected to be in “peak condition” for the world indoor champion-ships in March.

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