Amputee sprint star Marlon Shirley is relishing a return to international competition for the first time since the 2004 Paralympics. Shirley, who won T44 100m gold in Athens, missed the Paralympic World Cup in May but is back in action for this week's IPC Open European Championships.
"I tore my hamstring in Athens and it never healed," the 27-year-old American told BBC Sport.
"But things are going well now and I'm really looking forward to competing."
The two-time Paralympic gold-medallist successfully defended his 100m title in Athens, and claimed a silver in the 200m before injury forced him to settle for bronze in the long jump.
 |  The pressure is definitely on |
Although the hamstring injury has continued to hamper his training over the last 11 months, Shirley is eager to return to the track at the event in Espoo, Finland, starting on Monday.
"Actually it still hasn't fully healed yet, because I haven't been able to train properly for the 200m, so basically I running this out of a need to compete," he added.
"I need to earn my keep and I have a pretty good range of endorsements and I obviously need to live up to those by competing. The pressure is definitely on."
Shirley is world record-holder in the 100m (11.08 secs) and F44 long jump (6.79m), and his time of 22.67 is the offical 200m mark, although Oscar Pistorius has run 21.97 in the T43 (double amputee) category.
He will take part in all three events, and the 4x100m relay in Espoo which features disabled athletes from 35 European countries and 13 countries outside Europe.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
