Athletics-Australia's Pearson named in Rio team, eyes May return

SYDNEY, April 4 (Reuters) - Olympic sprint hurdles champion Sally Pearson has been named captain of Australia's athletics team for the Rio Games and said she could make her competitive return from injury next month. The 29-year-old broke her wrist in a sickening fall at a meeting in Rome last June then suffered problems with her Achilles that hampered her recovery. Pearson initially thought she would not race again until a month before the Aug. 5-21 Rio Olympics but said on Sunday she could return towards the end of May. "We haven't got anything set in stone," Pearson told reporters. "One of the reasons for that is because there hasn't been anything confirmed just yet, but it will be likely towards the end of May. "Training has been going well ... probably give it four-to-six weeks now, and then we'll be able to really decide what we're going to do and how ready I actually am to compete." Pearson, who won gold in the 100 meters hurdles in London and silver in Beijing four years earlier, went to Germany last month to meet sports injury specialist Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt to discuss her progress. "I'm fixed, that's exactly what he said," Pearson said. "The fourth day I was there he said, 'you're fixed ... you are good to go'." Pearson said she could now concentrate on her title defence in Rio and was not worried about the impact her injuries have had on her preparations. "The niggles I've had in the past are in the past now," Pearson said. "I don't think it's taken away anything at the moment. "In 2013 I had two hamstring tears going into the world championships and I didn't run for a whole year after the 2012 Olympics Games - no one seems to remember that. "It's exactly the same this year. I know how to get the job done no matter what's happened in the lead-up." Pearson was among 28 athletes confirmed for Rio on Sunday following Australia's national championships. Seven long distance runners and race walkers had already been named. Veterans Dani Samuels, the women's 2009 discus world champion, and long jumper Fabrice Lapierre, the men's 2015 world championships silver medallist, also made the team. Athletics officials expect about 50 competitors to make the final squad. (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Peter Rutherford)