The European 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene believes this weekend's Diamond League meeting at Birmingham will act as a "dress rehearsal" for the Olympics in London.

The American Allyson Felix was made to fight all the way before winning the 400 metres in last night's first Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha.

Paula Radcliffe will be racing on the streets of London next month, testing out much of the marathon course on which her Olympic destiny will be decided on Sunday 5 August 2012. Radcliffe, holder of the women's marathon world record, is to join Mo Farah, Britain's European 5,000m and 10,000m champion, in the elite field for the London 10,000m road race on 30 May.

As Kelly Sotherton prepares for her first test as a specialist 400m runner at this weekend's Aviva UK Championships in Sheffield, the former Commonwealth heptathlon champion faces the prospect of competition for a berth on the Olympic 4x400m relay team from the latest overseas athlete to change allegiances to Britain in the run-up to London 2012.

Mark Lewis-Francis might have stopped short of applying for membership of the Michael Johnson Fan Club but yesterday he ventured almost as far as thanking the former sprinter for criticising his celebrations after his surprise 100m silver at the European Championships.

Lashawn Merritt is not the first American sprinter to claim to be the victim of what might be termed a cock-up on the doping front.

Hull midfielder Jimmy Bullard has told fans he is driven by pride and not pound signs following recent criticism of his displays.