OXFORDSHIRE hurdler Lawrence Clarke is desperate to prove he is back to somewhere near his best at the British Indoor Championships this weekend.

The 24-year-old, from Christmas Common, near Watlington, has suffered a frustrating time since finishing fourth in the 110m hurdles final at the London 2012 Olympics.

A broken wrist and pulled hamstrings wiped out most of his 2013 campaign, and he had to withdraw from last year’s European Championships final after tweaking his hamstring in the warm-up.

But Clarke has twice run a lifetime best over the 60m hurdles in recent weeks, and a 7.59-second run in France last Saturday, makes him the fourth quickest man over the distance this year and favourite for gold when he competes in Sheffield today.

“If you win you get selected for the European Indoor Championships and that’s my target,” he said.

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“Because of the injuries I’ve had I don’t want to give myself any aspirations but, hopefully, if I just keep going on this trajectory I will keep running well.

“It’s 18 months to the Olympics and to be able to start running quickly, building momentum for the World Championships this summer and Brazil next year is important.”

The 60m hurdle heats start at 12.40 today, with the final at 5.10.

Oxford's Hannah England will also be in action, but somewhat surprisingly will compete in the 3000m rather than 1500m.

Her race rounds off the event at 4.20 tomorrow afternoon.