Aviva Grand Prix
Date: 20 February Venue: National Indoor Arena, Birmingham Event website
Coverage: Watch live 1330-1630 GMT on BBC One and the BBC Sport website (UK only)  Aikines-Aryeetey is confident of mixing it up with the world's top sprinters
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey says he is in the shape of his life and aims to break 10 seconds for the 100m this summer. Britain's former world junior champion, 21, recently clocked 6.55s in the 60m and should seal his spot for the World Indoors at Saturday's Grand Prix. The Commonwealth Games also take place this year and he said: "I've had my time of being in awe of big runners. "If things go well, I will run sub-10, and once you break that mental barrier who knows what can come your way." Aikines-Aryeetey admits he is using the indoor season to hone his technique for outdoors and after finishing just 0.05s behind Dwain Chambers with a personal best at last week's World trials in Sheffield, he is favourite to join the indoor European champion in a GB vest in Doha next month. After nine months without injury, including a month of hard graft in South Africa in January, Aikines-Aryeetey told BBC Sport: "Training's been going very well and I've never run 6.55 in February before. I'm in the shape of my life. "I have accomplished a few things, I've had my time of being upset and nervous. I'm now stood on the start line feeling I just want to run.  | 606: DEBATE |
"Last weekend I didn't feel any pressure. In recent years I would have been quaking in my pants but not this year." The south London athlete powered on to the international stage five years ago with a double sprint gold at the World Youth Championships before claiming the world junior title in 2006. A spinal injury then forced a 11-month break the following year and after "messing up" at last year's trials for the Berlin Worlds (although he ended up with a relay bronze), Aikines-Aryeetey believes a new maturity will lead to greater things. Victory at Birmingham's NIA this weekend should guarantee a place in Qatar at the World Indoor championships on 12-14 March. He will not face Chambers, who has already qualified, this weekend, but other British hopefuls in action include fit-again Mark Lewis-Francis, Jeffrey Lawal Balogun and Craig Pickering, as well as American Mark Jelks, number one in the current world rankings. Aikines-Aryeetey revealed that competing with Chambers had helped to "push him to the limit" and it was now time, along with other GB sprinters, to stop being in awe of the likes of world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt. "On the domestic front, Dwain's the one leading the way," he said. "All we can do is follow and hopefully one day I will surpass him.  Chambers (left) is pushing Aikines-Aryeetey all the way this season |
"We used to go to meets and hope they had a bad day and we ran well. But we need to take it up a level. We've been hoping Usain has a bad day so he doesn't embarrass us, but now we have to rise to the challenge and improve. "I'm excited I've got the opportunity to progress on the potential I promised when I won the world youth and world juniors. It's finally coming along and I'm finally understanding the sport much better." Linford Christie, Jason Gardener and Chambers are the only Britons to run under 10 seconds and in a year involving the European Championships in Barcelona and Commonwealths in India, Aikines-Aryeetey believes Britain's runners could be the ones making the headlines. "It's a massively exciting goal. I think we'll have a few sprinters breaking that barrier this year," said last year's European U-23 100m champion, who added that the new season would be "fast and furious". "Simeon Williamson, Dwain Chambers, Tyrone Edgar are all looking to do that. Once someone has done it, we're all just going to follow - I just can't wait. Hopefully this is the start of something big for me." Although World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis is still recovering from injury, triple jumper Phillips Idowu will be looking to impress at the NIA after a fourth in Stockholm and fifth in Gothenburg this season which followed up his Worlds gold in Berlin last summer. World bronze medallist Jenny Meadows runs in the 800m, while international stars Bernard Lagat (1500m), Yaroslav Rybakov (high jump), Dayron Robles (60m hurdles), Tirunesh Dibaba (two miles) and Anna Rogowska (pole vault) are also in action.
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