AUSTRALIAN sprinter Sally Pearson is insistent she will be the athlete to beat when she begins her campaign in the Olympic Stadium next week.

The world champion heads to the Games as a hot favourite for gold but also on the back of only her second defeat in two years recently.

Pearson was defeated by the USA’s Kellie Wells at the Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace almost three weeks ago, and the duo are expected to go head to head again on Tuesday.

However, the reigning female athlete of the year is not downbeat: “It was not a wake-up call,” said the 25-year-old, who has run the three fastest times in the world this year.

“It was just not a good race.

“But she only beat me by two hundredths of a second. If they only beat me by that much when I have a bad day I feel sorry for them when I am on a good day.

“I expect myself to win. Everyone is chasing me, I am the hunted, but I love the competition.

“My personal best is so much faster than everyone else’s in the race so they have a lot of catching up to do.

“I am definitely ranking myself number one. I hope it turns out that way.”

Pearson’s world-leading time of 12.40 seconds is more than 0,1 secs faster than her rivals while her personal best of 12.28s is 0.07 off the 24-year world record.

“I am capable of breaking it, it’s a matter of where and when I do that,” said Pearson, who more than lives up to the moniker sewn into her personalised running spikes - ‘kwikchik’.

Pearson, known for her lightning-quick starts and dominating the race from the gun, will be up against the reigning champion in American Dawn Harper.

Not that she sees her as too much of a threat.

“She has a lot of work to do at the start to beat me,” she said.