Jana Rawlinson has begun the long journey home to Australia from her UK base after making the heartbreaking decision to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics.
Early this morning Australian time, Rawlinson left her home in Leicestershire to travel to Heathrow Airport and fly back to Sydney.

The shellshocked reigning world 400m hurdles champion is is expected to arrive in Sydney late on Friday night and will hold a press conference in Sydney on Sunday.

Her management team said she would hold the press conference - at which she would explain both the extent of her injury and her heartbreak - because of the overwhelming interest in her plight.

In a major blow to the Australian Olympic team, Rawlinson said last night she pulled out of the Games because of a foot injury.

"I am numb," Rawlinson said last night from Leicestershire before leaving for Heathrow. "I'm shattered. I feel like I have let a lot of people down.

"I have thought about this really hard and made the decision on Monday night but had two nights to sleep on it.

"Yesterday I went to the track on my own and tried to run again but I still couldn't even run in a straight line.

"We have tried everything now and I'm at the stage where I can't actually even run."

Rawlinson's problems are all related to the toe surgery she had in Melbourne back in January.

She has since been plagued with achilles, calf and hamstring problems on top of chronic planta fasciitis.

"I have not put more than two days in a row of training in now for 28 weeks," she said.

"I have basically had constant injuries for the past six-and-a-half months.

"I know there is still 40 days to go, I am well aware of that, but we have exhausted all the options in terms of getting out the performance that we require to be satisfied at the Olympics."

The 25-year-old revealed she had sent her 18-month-old son Cornelis home from their London base last week so she could have one last attempt at getting right.

"Eight days ago I put Corr on a plane and sent him home to Australia to try and give me the opportunity to just be completely a full-time athlete but it still hasn't worked," Rawlinson said.

"Now I have realised that I am not only wasting my own time but I am wasting time that I could be spending with my son back in Australia.

"I just want to go home and try and pick up the pieces."

Adding to the hurt is the fact that injury ruined her Athens Olympics campaign four years ago.

On that occasion she was forced to have knee surgery three weeks out from the Games and while she made a miraculous recovery to get to the Olympic final, she could only manage fifth.

Last night Rawlinson, who also won the world title in 2003, was adamant she wasn't finished and would be at the London 2012 Games.

"I can 100 per cent guarantee that there is no chance that I won't be showing up in that final in London," she said.

"I will never ever give up again. This year my body hasn't given me the chance.

"If the Olympics had of been last year I would be an Olympic champion now.

"But it's not and that's fate, that's sport."

Rawlinson made her first appearance on the track since September last year at the European Athletics Festival in Bydgoszcz last week.

It was her final roll of the dice - she finished second in the respectable time of 55.94sec - but knew virtually straight after the race that her Olympics were over.

"I tore my calf three weeks ago and I thought that was it but we hadn't raced yet and I just didn't want to sell myself short until I had run a race," Rawlinson said.

"I didn't pull up well after that and on Monday Chris (husband/coach) said all he wanted me to do was break 24.5 seconds for 200m.

"I made it about 130m around and my right hamstring cramped.

"Every time we have been kicked in the teeth and we don't think there is any other option.

"We have tried everything, medically we've done everything.

"I have to worry about my health now. This has gone beyond the point of no return and I am worried if I don't try and rehabilitate my body I am actually going to be finished.

"But I love my sport too much to risk permanent injury."