IWAN Thomas breathed a huge sigh of relief after posting his quickest time for three years in the British League at Windsor & Eton last Saturday.

But there can be no let-up for Southampton's re-emerging 400 metres king, who will have to go faster still in the AAAs at Birmingham this weekend to qualify for next month's World Championships in Edmonton.

Thomas (pictured left), knows his winning Windsor time of 45.77 seconds needs shaving down to 45.72 before the Netley-based European and Commonwealth champion can even contemplate returning to the world individual stage after two seasons destroyed by injury.

He also has his old adversary Mark Richardson to tame, along with unpredictable dangermen Sean Baldock and Jamie Baulch.

Daniel Caines, who would have started as favourite, is said to have pulled out with a bruised fibula.

Caines is still the only Briton with an 'A' qualifying standard in the bank, thanks to a 45.58 run in Seville last month, but Thomas is not unduly worried.

He said: "The qualifying time is not playing on my mind because I know I'm going to have to run a lot faster than 45.72 to win the trials anyway."

During his heyday of 1998, Thomas thrived on the pressure of major championships and is relishing the prospect of running three rounds in three days.

All being well, he will jog through tonight's heats (7.40pm), click up a gear in tomorrow's semis (6.25pm) to ensure a decent lane draw and then go for broke in Sunday's televised final (7.30pm).

The first two across the line are automatically selected, provided they have the qualifying time, and a third discretionary place is available before the team is finalised on July 23.

Lesser athletes might have crumpled after two devastating years of injury, but 27-year-old Thomas is buzzing again and confident he can pull something special out the bag.

"My first job is to qualify for the World Championships and if I finished second I wouldn't be gutted," he said.

"But it's not in my nature to go into a race thinking I might come runner-up. Make no mistake, I'm going there to try and win.

"I don't fear any of the opposition. Mark (and Daniel) are my main rivals, Jamie's inconsistent, but you never know with him, and people like Sean Baldock are always capable of suprises.

"Really, though, I think they'll be more afraid of me than I am of them because they know I'm a Championship runner who gets stronger round by round."

With 1500m ace Angus Maclean and sprinter Melanie Purkiss otherwise engaged at the European Under-23 Championships in Amsterdam, the area's other main interest rests with Andover-based Emma Davies in the women's 800m and in-form Team Solent trio Peter Brend (400m), Danny Turner (high jump) and Ashley Swain (pole vault).