Fine shot lifts careful Macey

Dean Macey roared back into championship action today and again threatened to run, jump and throw his way into Olympic medal contention.

Competing in his first international decathlon since winning bronze at the world championships in Edmonton three years ago, it was as if Canvey Island's whirlwind had never been away as he began to build on a solid start to the decathlon here.

By rights, Macey should have no chance of mixing it with the best all-rounders in the world after three years of injury woes and after only achieving the qualifying standard at Hexham the day before the British team was announced.

Yet, even when patched up, one of the characters always guaranteed to lift spirits in the squad was not about to let the side down and, after three of the 10 events, he had edged up the leaderboard to lie in seventh place. Macey opened his account with a solid 100metres run in 10.89sec to lie in 15th but then produced a season's best 7.47m in the long jump to move up to ninth.

Macey only took one jump, though, and passed on the other two as a precaution, prompting fears that his fitness is still a major concern and that he may still struggle to battle through the two-day marathon.

Yet he then produced a superb

15.73m effort with the shot, just four centimetres shy of his lifetime best and a put which only three others could better.