CHRISTIAN Malcolm's coach, Jock Anderson, feared the 200m runner would never run again when he was first admitted to hospital with a virus last week.

Anderson, though, admitted the 25-year-old is back on the road to recovery but insists he won't know how fit he is until he runs in Athens. It emerged earlier in the week that Newport sprinter Malcolm had spent five days in a Cypriot hospital with kidney failure.

And the Scottish coach who has coached Malcolm (pictured) from an early age immediately feared for the former world junior champion.

He said: "When he first went to hospital he was in that much pain that I thought he'd never run again, let alone in the Olympics.

"We just didn't know what was the matter with him. His health is more important then athletics and we were all worried about him.

"But they seem to have sorted the problem. It's a miracle that he's back in training so quickly and can compete at all in Athens."

But Anderson admitted that Malcolm's chances of a medal have been seriously damaged by the blow last week.

"We won't know how fit he is until he runs. We really can't tell what physical shape he is in until he is put under the pressure of that first race.

"Mentally he's fine, he's chirpy and I think he just wants to get to Athens now and compete."

Malcolm and Anderson are to travel to the Olympic village in Athens a day early and will arrive tomorrow.

They had planned to travel on Monday but have decided to give Malcolm's body one more day to recover from the journey before he competes on Tuesday in the heats.

Anderson believes Malcolm has had the virus which caused the kidney failure for some months, but is now sure that it has cleared up.

"I think he had it as far back as the trials in Manchester," said Anderson. "It's impossible to tell when he got it though, and we just have to hope he'll be all right when he runs."