In 2011 at the IPC Athletics World Championships in New Zealand she finished 5th in both the 100m and 800m events and was disqualified in both the 200m and 400m races. Frustrated by her performance, Pearson decided to leave wheelchair racing and switched to throwing events. She took up discus and the club throw, and in 2011 came first in the F51 discus in the Czech Open with a distance of 4.42 and second in the F51 club throw, recording 8.81m. In 2012, she improved on her personal bests, throwing 12.81m in the club and a world record of 6.66m in the F51 discus. These results were enough to qualify for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in both events.