By Tom Fordyce

Malcolm is top of the European rankings for 200m this summer

Sprinter Christian Malcolm goes into this weekend's European Trials in Manchester inspired by the memory of his worst moment in athletics.

Two years ago in Athens he was struck down by kidney failure just before the Olympics, spent a week in hospital and left the Games a shell of a man.

Malcolm said: "Athens wiped the slate clean for me - I was rock bottom.

"Right then, I thought, 'Right - this is me starting again'. I knew I would re-build, even if it took four years."

So far, the re-building is going well.

Malcolm is favourite for the 200m title in Manchester, and as the fastest man on the continent is also an early favourite for August's European Championships.

You always have to make sacrifices to get what you want Christian Malcolm

"For once, I'm really looking forward to the Trials this weekend," he told BBC Sport.

"Running as quick as I've run so far this season has given me so much confidence.

"But I've got to get through the weekend first before I focus on the Europeans."

You can forgive him a little caution. Malcolm's career is a saga of immense natural promise derailed by constant injury.

It's not an unusual story in British athletics, but Malcolm's spectacular early achievements and silky-smooth running-style make his a particularly lamentable tale.

He burst onto the international scene eight years ago when he won both 100m and 200m gold at the 1998 World Junior Championships.

Malcolm starts as favourite for the 200m at the Euro Trials

He followed that up by winning European Indoor 200m gold in 2000 aged just 20, before finishing fifth in the 200m at the Sydney Olympics later that year.

When he cruised through the heats and semi-finals of the 200m at the World Championships eight months later, running 20.08 secs without appearing to break sweat, the world seemed his for the taking.

But that, incredibly, was as good as it got.

In the final Malcolm could only watch as Greek sensation Kostas Kenderis came through inside him and muscled his way to gold.

While Kenderis' performance was subsequently tarnished by his succession of missed dope tests, Malcolm succumbed to niggly injury after niggly injury.

There was a toe problem, hamstring tears and then the kidney calamity the week before Athens, not to mention the shock retirement of his long-term coach Jock Anderson.

All of which perhaps explains why Malcolm, now aged 27, has never run as fast again as he did in that Worlds semi five summers ago.

"Who would have thought it would have taken me so long?" says Malcolm.

"What people don't realise is that, leading up to Edmonton, I had five good years of training uninjured and unscathed.

"That's what I need now. This time, I've had a good winter behind me.

"What gave me a lot of confidence is the way I was able to come out and run reasonably fast last summer despite less than ideal preparation.

"That told me that my talent was still there and that I could still improve. It gave me a lot of self-belief.

"With a good winter this year, I'll be better - and with another good winter to follow, I'll be even better next summer.

"I'm due a drop in my 100m time now, and I can't fault the way my 200m has been going. I'm really pleased with how it's going."

Great motivator

Malcolm is now being coached by Linford Christie, who also took Darren Campbell to Olympic 200m silver and the European 100m title.

It's meant a lot of disruption to his life - he lives in Newport, south Wales, but has to travel to west London to train with Christie - but the change appears to be working.

After winning against a tough field in Geneva last month, Malcolm won the 200m at the European Cup with an impressive time of 20.29 secs.

"It's been brilliant," he says. "It's been difficult travelling back and forth - there have been a lot of tedious train journeys - but it seems to be paying off so far. You always have to make sacrifices to get what you want.

"It's just me and Linford on the track, which is good because you get that one-on-one attention. That helps you iron out your flaws and your flaws.

"He's a great motivator as much as anything. The track sessions aren't that different to what I was doing with Jock, but I'm doing a lot more strength work now - and that's really helped.

"There are still more things for us to introduce too in the next couple of years, so I'm really looking forward to it."

Coverage from the European trials in Manchester on Saturday 15 July on BBC One from 1645 (BST) and on BBC Two on Sunday 16 July from 1645.