LAWRENCE Clarke is confident he can run even quicker after securing his place in Great Britain’s team for the Rio Olympics, writes STUART WEIR.

The 110m hurdler, from Christmas Common, near Watlington, finished second to Andrew Pozzi in the British Championships in Birmingham yesterday.

Clarke’s time of 13.44secs was enough to book him on the flight to Brazil, although it was 0.13 slower than the winner.

However, he believes there is plenty more to come.

“I am very relieved,” he said.

“Conditions weren’t ideal, but I thought it was a good race.

“I had great competition from Andrew Pozzi, it was just a shame we weren’t next to each other.

“I find it difficult to run on my own and I couldn’t see Andrew because he was on the other side.

“It was probably the best race I have run all year – to run 13.44 into a wind of -1.3 – and hopefully when we get into more competitive races we will both run a lot faster.”

Clarke, who moved Paris in October particularly to train alongside the world class French hurdler Dimitri Bascou, added: “I believe I am in the best training group in the world.

“Every session I do I have someone alongside me.

“You cannot afford to make a mistake in a hurdles race so getting to the Olympics knowing that I can compete under pressure is very important.

“Last year I went to Beijing not having had much competitive training behind me and it was a huge error and that was the catalyst for me leaving and going to Paris.”

Clarke hopes to represent Britain in the European Championships in Amsterdam in early July, with the team announced this morning.

He will then compete at the London Anniversary Games at the end of July before heading for Brazil.