Newport's Christian Malcolm will take centre stage in Florence this weekend when he represents Great Britain in the European Cup.

Malcolm has replaced Julian Golding in the 200metres and will also be part of the 4x100m team.

Malcolm has endured a mixed start to his outdoor season after suffering a knee injury a fortnight ago.

But at the weekend he showed signs that he is returning to form after recording an impressive time.

Malcolm is one of a host of Welsh stars competing in Florence this weekend. Iwan Thomas, Matt Elias, Darren Campbell and Jamie Baulch will all be in action.

Thomas is confirmed as running the 400m while Campbell is in the 4x100m team.

And one lap kings Matt Elias and Jamie Baulch will make up the 400 metre relay team.

Meanwhile for the first time this year Norwich Union, UK Athletics principal sponsor, will be offering a £3,000 bonus to Norwich Union GB team athletes who win their event at the European Cup, in addition to bonuses for three non-winning performances for the best three other GB performances in the competition.

Alastair Marks, sponsorship manager for Norwich Union, comments: "As athletics' biggest supporter, we want to ensure that the best available athletes compete for their country, and those that achieve need to be rewarded.

"We have some of the biggest names in the sport and we see this as a fantastic opportunity to reward the athletes with the hunger and desire to compete for Britain."

Meanwhile, British Athletics chiefs have announced a major shake-up of the Norwich Union trials & AAA Championships in order to improve elite athlete participation in the vent and increase the strength in depth of the fields.

In the most significant overhaul of the event since it took its current form in 1990, prize money will be made available, with UK Athletics and the AAA of England offering a total of £25,000 to the five best performing athletes over the three day period.

The move follows concerns raised after last year's event, as well as the indoor equivalent in February, which experienced thinner fields and less elite athletes competing in previous years.