Lewis-Francis unveils 200m plan

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/4639047.stm

Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallist Mark Lewis-Francis has revealed he is to start running 200m races to improve his form in the shorter sprint.
The 22-year-old Birchfield Harrier says he will compete in the 100m at the World Championships trials but the 200m was also a realistic prospect.

“I’ll run the three rounds of the 100m and see how I go but I am seriously considering running the 200m,” he said.

“Intrinsically I am doing this to better myself in the 100m.”

Lewis-Francis has rarely competed over the longer distance but recently set a new personal best time of 20.78 seconds in blustery conditions in Northern Ireland.

“I ran a great 200m recently and that banished a lot of my demons,” he said.

“I don’t know why I was so scared of running the 200m but that is definitely now on the agenda for next year.”

The World Championships trials in Manchester next week also serve as trials for the Commonwealth Games and the Amateur Athletics Association championships.

Lewis-Francis admitted he had not been at the top of his form but was confident he could deal with the task in hand.

“I am not going to pretend I am in superb form right now but I am on track and I have just got to go out next weekend and qualify for the worlds and Commonwealth Games,” he said.