Christie quick to impress

Athletics

Linford Christie stormed to an impressive victory in a 100 metres race in Germany yesterday. The 36-year-old opened his outdoor season in a low- key event in Arnsberg, looking powerful and fit after training in Australia and Florida, and he clocked 10.20sec in cold, damp conditions.

The mark compared favourably with the hand-timed 10.3 Christie clocked at the start of the 1992 season when he won the Olympic title in Barcelona, and the 10.26 in his first race in 1993, the season he won the world title in Stuttgart.

Afterwards, he again refused to be drawn on whether he would be defending his Olympic title in Atlanta. "No Olympic questions," he said. "I am running each race at a time. Only God knows the future - I don't. I am not planning anything. I am just having fun. If I go to the Olympics you'll see me, but you won't see me next season. For definite."