While Donkova’s record will always be suspect (a product of that era) – Pearson’s performance (heats/final) at this year’s World Championships has to be the most impressive I’ve witnessed to date (eclipsing Lolo’s US Championships prior to the Olympics).
That being said – if you look at the number of times Donkova ran sub 12.5 vs. Pearson’s – well…Sally has some work to do.
Still…I take a slight issue with those who imply that her flat speed is suspect. I’m not sure what the benchmark is to be considered “fast” or “world class” in a flat 100m – but there’s no way to run 12.2x’s in a 100m hurdle race and not possess some serious speed.
One such article by Steve McGill: