AIS and Australian 400m hurdles star Jana Rawlinson has declared she’s back on track and ready to defend her world title, despite a tumultuous few months plagued with injury and off field distractions.

Despite the injury setbacks and separation from her husband and coach of three years Chris Rawlinson, the dual world champion remains confident that she will be on the start line for August’s world championships and will aim for a top-five finish in Berlin.

“I’m injury free and training really well, to the point of where I’m ready to race,” said Rawlinson who departs for Europe on Monday for her first hitout in Bydgoszcz, Poland on June 11.

Rawlinson hasn't raced for 12 months, with toe surgery complications early last year forcing her to pull the pin on the Beijing Olympics and the recent Australian domestic season.

Although her training and preparation have been far from ideal, Rawlinson believes she is in better shape than that of 2007, where she made a triumphant comeback to win her second world title in Osaka, less than nine months after giving birth to son Cornelis.

However the 26-year-old is keeping a lid on expectations, especially given the strength of the field in the women’s 400m hurdles, compared to 2007.

“My goal for the world champs this year is the same as what it was in 2007, where I will be hoping for a top-five finish. That’s taking into consideration what has happened in the past few months.

“I’m in better shape now than what I was in 2007. Ironically my training has turned around in the last three to four weeks to actually looking like I’m going to have a good year, but I have to consider the fact that my event is actually running a lot hotter than in 2007. The girls are already posting times quicker than many of the girls ran all year in 2007, so therefore I have to be realistic.”

Much of that turn around has been the result of Rawlinson’s revitalised program with her new coach and training squad. Rawlinson has reunited with the AIS-based Craig Hilliard who took her to victory at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and so far the partnership is paying dividends.

“I’ve been training with Craig for five weeks now,” continued Rawlinson who moved from Sydney to Canberra late last year to be closer to the state-of-the-art facilities at the Australian Institute of Sport.

“A few things leaned me towards Craig. Firstly he’s unemotional, he’s straight to the point, he’s honest and his work is the right kind of work for me. He stops me from doing too much and he obviously pulls me up if I’m not doing enough. His attitude is what I need for training.

“And the second thing…his training group is a lot of fun to be with. He trains young Tristan Thomas (who recently ran a world class 48.68 in the 400m hurdles) and I really love his enthusiasm at training. He gives me that emotional support I need from a group experience.”

Rawlinson’s career has been plagued with injury, her toe surgery complications from last year escalating into foot, Achilles tendon, calf, hamstring and back-related complaints.

“I’ve had very small niggling injuries since the Olympics, mostly stress related.

“People carry their emotions differently. Unfortunately I carry a lot of my emotions in my body. However on the good side, it’s why I run very well when I race because I get very emotionally attached to my event, which is why when I’m racing I’m very hard to beat.

“However on the flip side, if I’m very sad, I carry it through my body when I’m training and I’m more prone to injury.”

Selected in 4 x 400m relay as well as the 400m hurdles for Berlin, Rawlinson will line up on the start line alongside Tamsyn Lewis, who only recently added the hurdles event to her program. 

“I certainly think Tamsyn is going to take it a step up in the next few years. You only have to look at her flat 400m time to know she has potential over the 400m hurdles.

“There’s also a young kid in Canberra who trains with me every day, Lauren Boden, who’s equally as good.

“There’s the three of us, and personally I love the environment of running and competing against my competitors. I think it’s the only thing that can take you to the next level. The Americans do it every day. The No 2 and No 3 in the world in the women’s 400m hurdles train together every day at the moment and you can’t beat that kind of competitiveness in training.”

Rawlinson’s two-year-old son Cornelis will join his mother on her four-month sojourn in Europe, the pair basing themselves in Loughborough, England initially before Rawlinson joins the Australian team in Cologne, Germany ahead of the world championships.

Rawlinson’s campaign is expected to include competitions in Bydgoszcz (June 11), Lausanne (July 7), Rome (July 10), London (July 24/25) and Monaco (July 28) before embarking on the world championships in Berlin from August 15 – 23.