Sally Pearson will step up her preparations for what would be an unprecedented third 100m hurdles world title with a series of meets in Europe in July.
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The 2012 Olympic champ was planning to compete at the Oceania championships in Townsville this week but has made a late decision to give the four-day titles a miss.
Her first meet in Europe will be in the Swiss city of Lucerne on July 9, followed by Diamond Leagues in Monaco and London.
"Sal sent a message through and we've been in touch," Australian head coach Craig Hilliard told AAP on Monday.
"She had initially planned to race here in Townsville but she's been very open with us about what she's going to do.
"She's jumping on a plane fairly soon to Europe and she's got the schedule all worked out.
"She's still training and there's nothing wrong with her fitness-wise."
Pearson made a successful return to competition in April after a year on the sidelines overcoming the Achilles injury that ruled her out of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
As the defending title-holder, the 32-year-old has a guaranteed wildcard into the 2019 world championships in Doha beginning in late September.
She also bettered the qualifying mark with a time of 12.70 seconds last month in Japan.
But with a change in the qualifying system for the Tokyo Olympics - and the 2019 world titles little more than three months way - the biennial Oceania championships take on added importance this year for athletes on the cusp of selection.
Discus thrower Dani Stevens is another high-profile withdrawal.
The 2017 world championships silver medallist is yet to fully recover from a back problem.
But Hilliard is confident Stevens will be back to full fitness in time for the latter stages of the Diamond League season and the world titles in Doha.
Among the big Australian names competing in Townsville at the four-day meet beginning on Tuesday are high jumpers Brandon Starc and Joel Baden, 400m runners Steve Solomon and Bendere Oboya and sprinters Jack Hale and Riley Day.
The women's 800m shapes as the strongest event of the championships, with Australia represented by rising star Catriona Bisset, Georgia Griffith and Morgan Mitchell.
"If you can get the automatic qualifier here that's a big tick straight away because the Olympic qualifiers are harder than those for the world championships," said Hilliard.
Australian Associated Press
