Sunday 1 July 2018 22:28, UK
Andrew Pozzi reignited his summer campaign to be crowned British 110m hurdles champion and book his place at the European Championships.
The pressure was on the 26-year-old Sky Sports Scholar in Birmingham after an unexpected sixth place at the Commonwealth Games and some underwhelming performances at the start of the outdoor season.
But three months after becoming World Indoor champion, he was back in Birmingham with conditions much warmer and in need of a solid showing with the big stage in Berlin just five weeks away.
After qualifying the fastest, the Stratford-upon-Avon athlete stayed calm in a swirling wind at the Alexander Stadium to power ahead of the opposition and not even clattering the eighth hurdle could deny him the glory in 13.61 seconds.
Defending champion David King produced a strong finish but was 0.2 seconds off the pace as Pozzi secured his spot at the Europeans in August.
"I'm delighted to win my third outdoor British title," said Pozzi who admitted it had been a tough year and missed some meetings to iron out problems in training.
"The conditions were really tough and the strong headwind meant it wasn't a race for fast times.
"But it was great preparation for the Europeans in Germany to get two rounds under my belt against great competition.
"I'm not in bad shape but I've had a few bad races. I'll be ready for Berlin. There's a lot of quality in lots of events so winning the trials and cementing your place is incredibly important.
"I'm pleased with the direction that my form is heading and with five more weeks to get ready for the European Championships and I'm really excited for the rest of the season."
In other events, Laura Muir won the 800m, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake beat Adam Gemili to the 200m crown, while Dai Greene, who has endured years of injury problems, secured an emotional victory in the 400m hurdles
Watch the Athletics World Cup on July 14/15 for all Sky customers on Sky Sports Mix, channel 121 and Sky Sports Action and Main Event
