| Motherhood helps brave Butler clear Games hurdle |
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DANIEL LANE The Sun-Herald April 18, 2010 SYDNEY'S Hayley Butler credits motherhood for providing her with the fortitude needed to hurdle bureaucracy and make the Commonwealth Games shadow squad. After a two-year break from competition - which included giving birth to her son Cooper, now 14 months, and recovering from a shoulder reconstruction - Butler beat her best for the 100m hurdles by .03 seconds to win last month's ACT Championships in 13.46 sizzling seconds. The effort placed her second nationally behind Beijing silver medallist Sally McLellan but despite recording a B-qualifier for the Commonwealth Games, the 25-year-old was disqualified for failing to register with officials 45 minutes before the race. "I was very disappointed and really worried I mightn't do it again," Butler (nee Cameron) said. "The last few weeks have been a roller-coaster ride, but being a mother to Cooper put it all in perspective. I realised qualifying was up to me." Butler qualified for New Delhi not once but twice last Saturday when she ran on the Gold Coast in the morning and then Sydney in the evening. She was determined to post a qualifying time before today's final at the Nationals in Perth. Her coach Penny Gilles, a two-time Olympian, described Butler's efforts to beat the clock twice in the one day as "incredibly inspiring" and "deserved". "Coming back as a mother means I look at athletics quite differently," Butler said. "If I didn't qualify I realised it's not the end of the world, though, don't get me wrong because the sport still means the world to me. I just have something in my life that's even more important." Tomorrow Butler will be measured for a national team blazer. "I had to change my flight from Sunday to Monday so I can get measured up for the outfits and that's very exciting," she said. "I have to pinch myself to make sure it's really happening." |