Further Information 

Competition Stats

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS:
100 metres: 2001 (U20) - 1st, 2002 (U20) - 6th, 2003 (U20) - 1st, 2004 - 3rd (2nd Australian), 2005 - 1st, 2006 - 1st, 2007 - 1st, 2009 - 1st
200 metres: 2001 (U20) - 4th, 2003 (U20) - 2nd (1st Australian)
100m hurdles: 2003 (U20) - 1st, 2004 - 2nd, 2005 - 1st (equal) (U20) – 1st, 2006 - 1st, 2007 - 1st, 2009 - 1st

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS:
World Youth Championships: 2003 - 100m hurdles 1st (13.42), 200m 5th (24.01), medley relay DQ heats
World Junior Championships: 2004 - 100m 3rd (11.40), 100m hurdles 4th (13.41), 4 x 100m relay 5th (45.10)
World Championships: 2003 - 4 x 100m 6th heat (44.11), 2007 - 100m 8th semi (11.32), 100m hurdles 5th semi (12.82), 4 x 100m 8th heat (43.91)
Commonwealth Youth Games: 2004 - 100m 3rd (12.26), 100m hurdles 1st (14.11), 4 x 100m 2nd (46.08) medley relay 3rd (3.56.37)
Commonwealth Games: 2006 - 100m 7th (11.50), 100m hurdles fell in final, 4 x 100m 3rd (44.25)
World Cup: 2006 - 100m 8th (11.44), 100m hurdles 4th (12.95), 4 x 100m 5th (44.26)
Olympic Games: 2008 – 100m hurdles 2nd (12.64)

ANNUAL PROGRESSION:
100 metres:
2001 11.91
2002 12.01
2003 11.57
2004 11.40
2005 11.41
2006 11.36
2007 11.14
2008 11.41
2009 11.26

100m hurdles:
2003 14.01
2004 13.30
2005 13.01
2006 12.95
2007 12.71
2008 12.53
2009 12.50

200 metres:
2001 24.26
2003 23.78
2004 23.90/23.86w
2005 23.45
2006 23.36
2007 23.55/23.42w
2008 23.55
2009 23.32

EVENTS / PERSONAL BESTS:
100 metres: 11.14 (+1.7) - Osaka (JPN), 26/08/07
100m hurdles: 12.50 (+0.7) - Monaco (MON), 28/07/09
200 metres: 23.32 (+2.0) - Brisbane, 16/01/09

RECORD(S):
Oceania/national record - 100m hurdles: 12.50 - Monaco (MON), 28/07/09
National under 20 record - 100m hurdles: 13.01 - Brisbane, 26/11/05
National under 18 record - 100m hurdles (.76cm): 13.14 (+0.5) - Sherbrooke, 11/07/03
National under 16 record - 90m hurdles (.76cm): 12.51 (-1.4) - Melbourne, 9/12/01
National under 16 record – 200m hurdles: 28.15 - Brisbane, 21/10/01

Interesting Facts

Sally started athletics seriously after moving to Queensland from Sydney where she had participated successfully in swimming and gymnastics.

Her idols include Catherine Freeman, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and actress Julia Roberts.

Sporting Career

1999-2000 – Won a swathe of Little Athletics and primary school titles. Primarily a sprinter and hurdler, she was also a capable long and high jumper. Aged only 14 years, she won the Australian U20 100m title in a time of 11.91.

2001 – Lowered her 200m best to 24.26 and set a national U16 90m hurdles record.

2002 – Injured for much of the year.

2003 – Lowered the Australian U18 100m hurdles record on several occasions to a best of 13.42 and won the national U20 100m/200m/100m hurdles treble. Selected for both the world and the world youth championships, she was the youngest Australian athlete to be selected for the former where she ran the anchor leg in the 4x100m relay. Sally won the 100m hurdles at the world youths and posted a meet record in her heat. She finished fifth in the 200m final.

2004 – At the world junior championships she again showed her capacity to deliver on big occasions, lowering both her 100m best to 11.40 to claim a surprise bronze and her hurdles PB to 13.30 in the heats, before finishing fourth in the final.

2005 – Won four medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo and then at the Australian championships became the first woman to win the 100m/100m hurdles double after dead heating (with Fiona Cullen) in the hurdles.

2006 – Repeated her double success at the 2006 nationals. At the Commonwealth Games she made the 100 metres final, before crashing in the hurdles when challenging for a medal. Some consolation came in the form of a relay bronze. Placed fourth in 12.95 at the World Cup in Athens, breaking the 13-second barrier for the first time.

2007 – Much of the speculation around the domestic season was when Sally would break Pam Ryan’s long-standing national 100m hurdles record of 12.93. In the very last event of the 2007 Australian championships in Brisbane in March, the wait was finally over. Despite the drama of a late recall of the start when her blocks slipped, Sally retained her cool to take .01 seconds off the 34-year-old mark, having also set a new PB in winning the 100 metres. At the Osaka Grand Prix in May she defeated a world-class field to win the 100m hurdles and also smashed her national mark, lowering it to 12.71. Sally was one of Australia’s best performers at the world championships in Osaka, highlighted by her progression to the semi-finals in both the 100m and 100m hurdles. In her 100m heat, she ran a scorching personal best of 11.14 (+1.7), the second-fastest time in history by an Australian woman and, comfortably, the best time run by an Australian woman at the world championships. Following Osaka, Sally won the 100m at the IAAF World Tour meet in Rieti, Italy and finished fourth in the 100m hurdles at the IAAF Golden League meet in Berlin. However, disqualification spoiled the hurdles event at the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, with Sally one of three removed in false starts.

2008 – Sally had the misfortune of badly injuring her hamstring which prevented her from taking any further part in the Australian domestic season. Venturing over to Europe Sally again excelled with a sensational victory and new personal best of 12.58 in Lucerne on July 16. Two weeks later in Monaco Sally ran another personal best, to lower the national record to 12.53. Sally ran the fastest time ever by an Australian at the Olympics in her heat of the 100m hurdles (12.83). She then bettered this in her semi-final (12.70), qualifying for the final as sixth fastest. Sally ran brilliantly, with a perfectly timed dip at the finishing line ensuring she won the elusive silver medal in a race in which only 3/100ths of a second separated places second to sixth. Her silver is Australia’s first ever Olympic medal in the 100m hurdles.

2009 – Sally’s 2009 campaign got off to a flying start, taking out the 100m/100m hurdles double at the Sydney Track Classic, World Athletics Tour Melbourne and national championships with wins over international athletes Shericka Williams (JAM) and Brigitte Foster-Hylton (JAM) along the way. In July Sally blew away a world-class field including Olympic champion Dawn Harper (USA) to win the 100m hurdles at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne (SUI) in 12.60 (+0.3). McLellan went one better in London just weeks later, clocking her second-fastest time of the season with 12.65 (-0.7), dominating a field that included 2008 world indoor champion Lolo Jones (uSA) and 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (CAN). In late July Sally cut her personal best time over the 100m hurdles to 12.50 at the Herculis meet in Monaco, setting a new Oceania and Australian record along the way.