Star hurdler Jana Rawlinson has had her breast implants removed to boost her chances of winning a medal for Australia at the 2012 Olympics, a magazine reported on Monday.
Rawlinson, whose private life has often made headlines in Australia, said she enjoyed having larger breasts but did not want to “short-change Australia”.
“I absolutely loved having bigger boobs, but finally I’ve grown up enough to know myself; to be honest about who I am when I look in the mirror,” Rawlinson told the Woman’s Day magazine.
“I don’t want to short-change Australia either — I want to feel the most athletic I can, to know that I’m standing on the track in London the fittest I can be.”
The double 400m world champion, who reportedly plans to remarry estranged husband Chris Rawlinson, told the magazine she had the implants because she was unhappy with her athletic figure.
“When I looked in the mirror I just saw muscled arms, broad shoulders and big, strong legs,” she said. “These are assets I need to run well, but they didn’t make me feel like an attractive woman.
“There are a couple of girls — who I won’t name — in world athletics who are Olympic champions, but they look like men and I don’t want to be like that.”
Rawlinson won the 400m hurdles at the 2003 Paris world championships and four years later in Osaka, Japan. – AFP