Ottey has won eight Olympic medals but never gold

The 46-year-old, who has not competed since the 200m semi-final at the Athens Olympics, battled a strong headwind to win the 100m in 11.94 seconds.

"It was slow so forget the time," said Jamaican-born Ottey, who now represents Slovenia. "But the legs feel fine.

"If I'm running well in July then I'd like to go to Gothenburg."

Ottey has never won an Olympic gold despite collecting eight medals from the Games, the first - a bronze - coming in 1980 in Moscow.

I actually did stop competing but decided I didn't like sitting at home Merlene Ottey

Her run in Athens was ended by a hamstring injury, which almost led her to quit.

"After I was injured at the Olympics, I wanted to stop," she said.

"I actually did stop competing but decided I didn't like sitting at home, so I decided to get the required surgery and just started training again."

Ottey has also won 14 World Championship medals, including two 200m golds, and became the oldest track and field athlete to win an Olympic medal when she won silver in the 4x100m relay in Sydney.

A positive drug test for nandrolone almost ended the former Jamaica athlete's career in July 1999.

Ottey subsequently missed the World Championships in Seville that year, but later took legal action and won her case on technicalities.