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Posted: 2024-07-12 20:42:52

Receiving confirmation of her spot at the Paris Olympic Games was a mixture of "relief and happiness" for Australian sprinter Liz Clay.

Even though Clay narrowly missed out on the qualification standard of 12.77, she was still one of the top 40 athletes in the world based on her performances.

In truth though, just getting into a position to qualify at all is some achievement for the Gold Coast-based 29-year-old.

"2022 was probably, I'd say I had one of the worst weeks of my life," Clay told ABC Gold Coast.

That's a big statement, but the experiences that awaited Clay over the next two years hold up to such a bold claim.

After running a personal best of 12.71 in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, missing out on a spot in the final by just 0.04 seconds, Clay was at the peak of her powers.

Liz Clay holds her hands together and looks up

Liz Clay came so close to a final berth in Tokyo.(Getty Images: Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

That was, at the time, the second-fastest ever by an Australian woman.

Clay justifiably headed to the 2022 World Championships full of confidence, until the seventh hurdle of her first-round heat in Eugene, Oregon.

"I fell down around half-way in my heats," Clay recalled.

"I walked off the track and realised that I'd done a terrible injury to my foot."

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