Campbell faces battle for fitness

Darren Campbell, the European 100 metres champion, racing for the first time in seven weeks, finished sixth over the distance in last night's Grand Prix meeting here.

Ruled out by a hamstring injury to his right leg since last competing for his club, Belgrave Harriers, in Madrid, Campbell knows time is against him in his bid to regain fitness before the World Championships begin next month.

Campbell clocked a very ordinary 10.46 seconds as victory went to the US champion, Tim Montgomery, in 10.18.

Despite the result, the Olympic 200m silver medallist was still the second fastest out of his blocks. Watched by his coach Linford Christie, who has had his squad of athletes training on the Cote D'Azur for the last week, the 27-year-old Campbell immediately sought out the 1992 Olympic 100m gold medallist after his race.

Aware the British trials for Edmonton begin in Birmingham on Friday, Campbell said: "It was hard. My hamstring is still troubling me and is sore. I don't know what I am going to do next. I'll have to wait and see until I've spoken to Linford."

Poland's Justyna Bak broke the world 3,000m steeplechase record at the same meeting. Breaking away from Kenya's Irene Limika with 600m remaining, Bak recorded a time of 9min 25.31sec. The Kenyan was also inside the old mark set last year by the Romanian Christine Iloc-Cassandra of 9:40.20, who was fifth here in 9:39.51.

Third went to Elizabeth Jackson, who reduced the American record from the 9:48.72 she ran in Glasgow on 1 July to 9:43.36. It is the fourth time the record has been broken since the event was officially recognised by the International Amateur Athletic Federation in 1999.