CHRISTIAN Malcolm (pictured) returns to action today in his first outdoor race of the season as he starts his assault for Athens Olympic glory.

The Newport 200m star, who on Thursday celebrated his 25th birthday, will compete in the British League championships in Liverpool where he will represent Cardiff Athletics Club.

For Malcolm, who is competing in both the 100m and 200m today, it will also be his first competitive action since injury forced him out of the World Indoor Championships earlier in the year.

And he will be hoping that his outdoor season takes him all the way to the Olympic 200m final on August 26.

"It's going to be a long season, but I'm confident that I've done enough strength work earlier in the year to see me through," he said.

"The Olympics is obviously in the back of my mind but my main focus is obviously in the trials in Manchester (July 12).

"I can't really look beyond that because if I do then I won't make the team, so I've been concentrating a lot on my speed work. (Malcolm has just returned from the GB holding camp in Paphos, Greece where he was warm weather training with Mark-Lewis Francis).

"So it all begins for me this weekend and hopefully it'll end with the 200m final in Athens before the relays."

Malcolm (pictured above) is still happy to compete in the GB relay team despite being devastated by the loss of his World Championship 4x100m relay silver medal.

The 200m star was stripped of his medal last month due to fellow Great Britain team-mate Dwain Chambers testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Other members of that team have said they would think twice about competing for the relay team because of the way they were treated as innocent members of that team.

"I'm cool with what happened but it was hard to deal with at first," he said. "There is no point in dwelling in the past, you've just got to accept what has happened and move on, and that is exactly what I am doing.

"I'm still happy to run in the relay but I just have to make sure I'm selected."

Malcolm also admits to being slightly nervous about his first race of the season.

"You're always nervous about your first race in any season," he said.

"You don't know what to expect, you don't know how fast you'll go so it will be like stepping into the unknown for me, but it is a good race to start and I can't wait to get going."