Shannon McCann – Post Australian Athletics Championships

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Category: Shannon McCann

Matt: First off, a huge congratulation on the win over the weekend, amazing effort.

Shan: Thanks, it hasn’t really sunk in yet!

Matt: We had a chat leading into the event and you were pumped to be racing, was this the best you have felt since the injury?

Shan: Not really. In the call room I had to lay on the floor because my back was starting to really tighten up. It was a stressful and horrible experience really, I've never had to deal with anything like that before, and after the race my back was quite sore so I'm very grateful my body held up for as long as it did! Without the tireless work of my Chiropractor, Andrina Chien and my Bowen Therapist, Natalie Ridout I would never have been healthy enough to race these championships so I owe a huge chunk of this success to them.

Matt: Injury derailed your career last year and you were told initially you may never race again, confidence plays a huge role in how an athlete performs, how confident were you of being able to take out this race?

Shan: Ive never felt so sick with nerves like I was before this race. My confidence was understandably very low coming into this comp, especially because the 2 weeks leading up to this championships were interrupted with a hamstring strain and I couldn’t even lift my lead leg over a hurdle! But athletics is like poker, even if you have a terrible hand, you have to bluff and pretend you’ve got a royal flush.

Matt: Winning the 100m hurdles National Title would have been a huge achievement for you, one physically with the body holding up and two mentally the fact that your body could race at that level.

Shan: Yeah, I shocked myself with the time I ran. I didn’t feel I executed my race plan as well as I would have hoped so to almost do a personal best time was a huge surprise. It has given me a lot of confidence to move forward from here and chase a world championships qualifier for next year. Ive only raced 9 hurdle races this season, which is a big difference to my usual 20-25 races so I'm very excited to see what I can do with a full season under my belt.

Matt: How much more drive and determination has winning this title given you?

Shan: I think it gave me more confidence then anything, I have been struggling mentally for a long time now but good things really do come to those who wait and I really do believe everything happens for a reason

Matt: Your training partner, friend and fellow The Sports Vault athlete Brianna Beahan took out the silver medal in the same race, must have been big celebrations after the race?

Shan: That was amazing! Shes worked really hard since changing coach at the start of the season and it showed with her running a fast time beating her 2 year old personal best by a massive 0.2! I was so thrilled to win but to have Brianna on the podium next to me made it absolutely unbelievable. Our celebrations began with a lot of chocolate and a big bag of chips!

Matt: How much does it help having someone like Brianna pushing you not only in the race but day in, day out in training?

Shan: Training together is the best thing that could have happened to both of us. She keeps me honest at training every single day, I cant slack off otherwise she makes me pay for it. Luckily our coach knows when to put us together for sessions and when to separate us so it doesn’t get too competitive and the results clearly speak for themselves.

Matt: Give us a run down on how you fuel yourself from the night before an event till you are racing?

Shan: Dinner: Veggie burger and steamed vegetables. Maybe some protein. Something light that isn’t too heavy on the stomach.
Breakfast: small bowl of cereal or vegemite toast! Again, keeping it light on the stomach.
Pre race snack: if my nerves will let me eat without being sick, i try and have a fruit bar at least an hour before I race.
Behind the blocks just before we race I always have an energy shot. I'm a bit superstitious with that!

Matt: Where to from here for you?

Shan: I really want to come back from this injury strongly. Since my first year focusing on the 100m hurdles in 2010, people were always saying I have a lot of potential, and I don’t really feel Ive lived up to that potential. World championships next year is my number one priority and I really hope I can gain some momentum off this win and go onto bigger and better things.

I just want to take a moment to thank my coach, Jason Moyle, my medical team and The Sports Vault for supporting me unconditionally in my comeback for injury.

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