Canberra sprint star Melissa Breen is determined to keep her Commonwealth Games dream alive, but Australia's fastest woman won't risk long-term injury for glory on the Gold Coast this week.
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Breen will race in the 100 metres heats at the national championship on Thursday and wait to see how she recovers before deciding if she will compete in the semi-finals or the final.
The two-time Olympian has been hampered by sciatic nerve problems for the past three weeks, limiting her training to a handful of sessions as she keeps her eye on the Commonwealth Games in April.
If Breen is unable to compete at the peak of her powers, she will still be eligible for a discretionary selection and the lure of being fit to be a part of Australia's 4x100 metre relay team will be a major factor in how far she pushes her body this week.
Myogen masseuse Scott Smith will travel to the Gold Coast to work with Breen for the selection trials and coach Matt Beckenham was hopeful Breen's pain would subside.
"It's been a far from perfect preparation but Mel's been doing everything she can," Beckenham said.
"She's been unable to run for basically the last three weeks, but she's desperate to represent her country and also loves winning a national title.
"At this stage she's determined to try to do that. But the main thing we're all keeping our priority on is we don't want to do more damage. We'll do everything possible to try to make sure she gets into the team and runs fast for the team.
"She also doesn't want to do damage that is going to take six months to recovery after this little period. The injury has progressed in the last four or five days, so we've done a little bit of training.
"That's positive. It still pulls up a bit tight after a session, but she's been working pretty intensively with Scott Smith to do everything possible to get back out there."
Canberra will send a 43-strong team to the four-day national titles at Cararra Stadium, which double as a selection trial for the Commonwealth Games to be hosted at he same venue.
Beckenham will have nine athletes from his stable, including 10-time 400 metres hurdles national champion Lauren Wells, who wll compete in her pet event and the long jump.
Rising stars Andrea Thompson and Keely Small will test themselves against Australia's best in the heptahlon and 800 metres respectively, while para javelin world champion will attempt to qualify in the shot put.
Athletics Australia selectors will pick a team of 111 athletes for the Commonwealth Games and Breen could be given extra time to prove her fitness.
She has no history of hamstring problems and has been Australia's most successful sprinter for almost a decade. Her addition to a relay team alongside world champion hurdler Sally Pearson would be a massive boost for Australia's medal hopes.
