Athletics: Rawlinson defeats class field for career-best victory

Chris Rawlinson obviously likes Switzerland – or maybe Switzerland likes him. Either way, it is in that country he produces his best performances.

Three years ago, in the 400 metres hurdles B race at the Zurich Weltklasse meeting, Rawlinson won in a startling time of 48.14 seconds which left him third in the world rankings. Last night in Lausanne he put together another outstanding run to earn victory in the Athletissima meeting at the Stade de la Pontaise.

His time of 48.21sec was his second best ever, but more significant was the fact that he was up against serious opposition – this was very much an A race. The runner-up, in 48.40sec, was France's former world champion and European record holder Stéphane Diagana.

Also trailing in the Yorkshireman's wake was the Olympic chmpion, Aneglo Taylor, Italy's Fabrizio Mori, last year's world silver medallist, and the South Africans Llewellyn Herbert and Alwyn Myburgh, Rawlinson's main rivals for the Commonwlealth gold later this month, who were fifth and eighth, respectively.

"This is certainly the best victory I've ever had," said the 30-year-old from Rotherham. "I was wondering where they all were. I think everything is coming together at the right time. When I saw the line-up, it was probably good enough to be an Olympic final – and I came away with the goods."

Rawlinson, like every other top British athlete, is focusing his energies on the Commonwealth Games which start in Manchester on 25 July and the European Championships in Munich which follow them, and this result is the ideal preparation for him to manage what he has failed to do in his career so far – produce a big championship performance.

He was disappointed to manage only sixth place in the semi-finals at the 2000 Olympics, and seemed ready to live up to his potential in last year's Edmonton World Championships, where he reached the final and looked ready to earn a medal. But once again he underperformed when it mattered, finishing fifth.

This season Rawlinson, whose fortunes are being followed in a series of special reports on BBC Radio 5, has been experimenting with new stride patterns in an effort to improve his performances. But he made what could have been a costly error in the Commonwealth Trials at Manchester last month when he was disqualified from the 400m hurdles final for failing to clear one of the hurdles correctly.

However, the England selectors, taking into account his performances in recent years, gave him the benefit of the doubt by selecting him in the third discretionary place behind Anthony Borsumato and Matt Douglas.

Rawlinson, much relieved, took to the track at Sheffield on Sunday in the rarely-run 300 metres hurdles and produced a time 34.48sec – a world record, albeit only because it beat his own previous best at the distance. But he had the satisfaction of leaving behind him the two men who earned automatic places at the Commonwealth trials.

The organisers' disappointment following the withdrawal of the Olympic and world champion Maurice Greene from the 100 metres was compounded by the even later withdrawal of his training partner, Ato Boldon. Both cited tiredness.