BOLTON 1,500m star Tom Lancashire is one push away from making the Great Britain team for next year's Commonwealth Games.
The 19-year-old former Turton High School pupil needs to finish first in the AAAs Championships in Manchester on July 9-10 to book his ticket to Melbourne in March.
Bolton Harrier Lancashire, a silver medallist in the European Junior Championships and sixth in the World Juniors two years ago, has made impressive progress in America in the last two years.
He lopped three seconds off his personal best in his last race in America a fortnight ago and has improved by four seconds this summer.
His time of 3mins 38.92 secs took him under the Commonwealth Games qualifying time of 3.40 which means if he finishes first in the AAAs at the Manchester Regional Arena, he is guaranteed to be selected in the three-man team to represent Britain at the Commonwealth Games.
Second place might be sufficient to earn a place at the Games for Britain's most exciting teenage middle distance runner in the last 10 years.
Lancashire announced his arrival on the senior stage this year when he ran the second fastest time of 2005 by a British athlete in his last race in America a fortnight ago.
His best time is just one second slower than the year's best by a British runner and there are two more athletes who are one second slower than Lancashire, adding up to a big race next weekend in front of an 8,000 capacity Manchester crowd.
He will have to get through the heats at 5pm on Saturday, July 9, and win the final, which is scheduled for 6.30pm the following day.
Lancashire knows he will have to produce his best form to be one of the two 1,500m runners who will join Michael East in the three-man team.
East is unlikely to run in Manchester due to injury - but is almost certain of being picked for the Commonwealths as he is rated Britain's top middle distance runner.
He regularly runs six seconds faster than his nearest domestic rival, and won the 1,500m gold at the last Commonwealth Games.
Lancashire will go to Manchester in confident mood after his stunning performance last time out in the college national championships in Sacremento.
He said: "I am going into the race looking to win it as I do every race I enter.
"First place is a guaranteed spot for the Commonwealth Games with the next two at the discretion of the selectors.
"My main goal for this year was to try and win the European Under-23 Championships and the senior AAAs were something I would only do if I wanted to.
"But, because I got the qualifying time, the AAAs have gone up in my priorities because I want to go to the Commonwealth Games."
Lancashire still has an outside chance of making it into the team for the World Championships in August.
He will be there if he runs under the A standard qualifying time of 3mins 36secs and might be selected if he runs under the B standard of 3mins 38secs.
But he is running out of races to achieve the time as he plans to wrap up his season after the European Under-23 Championships in Germany which take place the week after the AAAs.
Former head boy at Turton High School, Lancashire, who will be 20 on July 2, wants to be the head man in British middle distance running.
He puts much of his progress down to his training at college in Florida where he is studying exercise science.
He said: "The main priority over there is my training. The studying is not too strenuous.
"I have always been interested in medicine and I will probably come back to England and study medicine when I have finished in America.
"My preparation is going well for the AAAs but the European Under-23s are still the main one for me because I have been building up for them all season and that will be the end of the season for me.
"I am the fastest under-23 in Britain and I don't think I am too far away from being one of the fastest in Europe. If I made it to the World Championships, that would be a big bonus for me."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article