Athletics: Slick Christie confirms his superiority: Britain's golden sprinter makes his mark again to eclipse rivals at the combined AAA Championships and world championship trials

AT THE age of 33, Linford Christie's domestic supremacy is unchallenged. He is beginning to wonder why.

Britain's Olympic champion was barely stretched in equalling McDonald Bailey's record of three successive AAA Championship 100 metres titles, finishing in 10.13sec ahead of Dean Capobianco, of Australia. John Regis was third in 10.32, but he was never in real contention.

'I'm too mentally strong for the other Brits,' Christie said. 'I look them in the eye and it just goes out of their head. It's a shame. I think a lot of them are coming into the sport for the money, which is the wrong reason.

'I've been working on my first 30 metres to stay with the likes of Andre Cason, but I'm not sharp yet. I did just enough to win. There are no gold medals in Birmingham tonight.' Apart from the AAA medal, of course. But there is only one gold medal to interest Christie this season and it comes on offer in Stuttgart next month.

On her current form, Sally Gunnell would probably do rather well in a 5,000m race. Or the pole vault.

Britain's Olympic 400m hurdles champion, returning to her old event of 100m hurdles, duly won a seventh title at the distance.

That moves her one ahead of the total of AAA 100m hurdles titles held by Shirley Strong, the silver medallist at the 1984 Olympics. More importantly, it keeps her on course for a memorable world championship appearance next month.

Gunnell, who had taken a 10-day break since setting the world's fastest 400m hurdles time of the year at Lausanne, was behind Jacqui Agyepong, who finished second in the European Cup, with two hurdles to go, but her finishing surge was irresistible as she came through to win in 13.08sec, which does not compare badly with her five-year-old best of 12.82.

'The hardest part was obviously the start,' Gunnell said. 'I haven't done enough speedwork for that, although I did a couple of sessions this week. I had to dig deep, because I left myself with a lot to do.'

Jon Brown, who beat Steve Cram in the British championship in June, booked his place in Stuttgart by winning the 5,000m in 13min 35.67sec. He already has the world championship qualifying time of 13:27.

With one place certain to go to the European Cup champion, Rob Denmark, the third position should go to the third-placed runner, John Nuttall, who has the qualifying time, although Gary Staines, who was second, might make a case for a deadline extension.

Colin Jackson won the 110m hurdles title, maintaining daylight between himself and Tony Jarrett to finish in 13.15sec. The runners were recalled four times after the starter, Doug Bedford, judged they had jumped the gun. Jackson would attach no blame to Bedford, but Christie, who had also been involved in false starts earlier, was scathing.

'It does get annoying and sometimes you want to scream,' Christie said. 'What happened in the hurdles final was Grand National standard.'

Steve Cram qualified for today's 1500m final without fuss in 3min 40.27sec. After being taken through swiftly, he seemed almost in reach of the qualifying time of 3:36.50, but slowed over the last 40 metres when he realised it was not on. His main rivals, Matthew Yates, David Strang, Simon Fairbrother and Denmark also progressed.

In the men's 800m, Martin Steele, Tom McKean and David Sharpe all moved through to today's final in very different ways. Steele, who set the world's fastest time of the season in Oslo last Saturday - 1min 43.84sec - won at will in 1:48.65, spending as much time looking backwards as forwards in the final straight.

David Sharpe, who lived up to his name in winning the World Cup in Havana at the end of last season, has had a poor seson so far, with a 1min 51sec time in Lausanne last week probably the low point.

For 400 metres yesterday it looked as if he would make an ignominious exit as he drifted to 10 metres off the lead. But Sharpe - for whatever reason - likes to leave things late. He caught Clive Gilby half-way down the final straight just as the Cambridge runner was beginning to get grand ideas.

McKean, who finished a bewildered last in the Oslo race won by Steele, was pulled through the first half of his race in the brisk time of 51.10sec by Paul Burgess, the former European junior silver medallist from Wigan.

Burgess faded suddenly on the back straight, and though he finished dutifully, it looked as though McKean had been paced. The Scot came through smoothly to win in 1:47.87. Burgess was seventh in 1:58.61.

Gary Cadogan remains favourite to win the 400m hurdles title today in what will be only his sixth major race since taking up the event at the beginning of the season.

Cadogan, who won his heat in 51.08sec, already has the qualifying time of 50sec.

In the women's 400m hurdles, Gowry Retchakan scratched after injuring her back before the race. She has the qualifying time already, but faces a struggle to be fit for Stuttgart.

(Photograph omitted)