COMPETING on the Olympic stage is “like a little addiction”, says Jana Pittman.
That is why, a fortnight out from the London Games, Pittman said it was hard watching all the excitement, anticipation and hype unfold. Pittman will be involved in a media role but the two-time world 400-metre hurdles champion has vowed to try for one more Olympics.
She has dabbled in rowing, cycling and has toyed with the idea of bobsledding for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
But it is Rio 2018 on the athletics track that is Pittman’s main aim.
“I want to try for one more Olympics but my body will decide that for me,” Pittman told The Courier yesterday.
“I’ll try another year of training and see how I go but that’s kind of the way it’s been the last couple of years.
“...The Olympics has not just been about competing for me – it’s been about getting a medal.
“I’ve been to two Olympics and I’ve qualified for another two that I’ve been injured for...after all the heart-ache, honestly, I’d be happy to make the team.”
A relapsed foot injury severed Pittman’s chance to qualify for London. She has just started rehabilitation and was scheduled for a needle in her foot yesterday afternoon to help progress, after a guest speaking role at the North Ballarat Football Club women’s business luncheon.
Pittman has not represented Australia at a major championships since 2007.
But wanting to return to the international stage drives her.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is definitely high on Pittman’s priorities plus the chance for two world championships before the Rio Games are enticing.
In between, Pittman runs a fitness and motivational speaking business Pitt Fit and is pursuing her other life-long dream to become a doctor. She has completed her undergraduate degree and passed the entrance exam. And the 29-year-old is a mum to five-year-old Cornelis but said she loves the juggle.
Pittman candidly spoke in Ballarat yesterday of her controversial moments, including a media-dubbed cat-fight with then best friend Tamsyn Lewis and her own feelings failure.
She spoke of her triumphs – like her world championship gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the Osaka IAAF world track and field championships, less than a year after the birth of her son.
Pittman spoke of dreams and how to set goals to achieve them.
In athletics, one dream she wants most is a proper chance to say goodbye.
melanie.whelan@thecourier.com.au
