MEDICAL student Angus Maclean is ready to give Team Solent an injection of middle-distance class in tomorrow's (10.30am) British League Golden Jubilee Cup semi-final at London's Barnet Copthall Stadium.

The 22-year-old has been so bogged down in third-year studies at Southampton University that he has had to put his athletics on ice for the first few weeks of the season.

But with exams now over, the 1,500 metres specialist from Curdridge is ready to step back onto a promising athletics path which will hopefully lead to the World University Games in Daegu, South Korea (August 24-30).

Maclean took time out from his studies last year to become a full-time athlete, but he could not reproduce his stunning 2001 form, which peaked with a personal best of 3.39.88, ranking him seventh in the UK.

This year he has reverted to juggling medicine with middle distance and he admits it's been mighty tough. He said: "People say that the third year of medical studies is the hardest one and it's been particularly difficult for me because I took last year out and had forgotten what I'd learned in the first two years!

"These exams were the hardest I've ever done, but I felt they went okay and now I'm having to start the track season a bit late.

"I ran a few races earlier on but they didn't go very well and recently I've done hardly anything. But although my running has taken a bit of a tumble, my training has been going okay. I've still been managing 30 or 40 miles a week."

With the AAA Championships/World Trials just a week away (July 25-27), Maclean's return to the track could not have been more timely.

He is likely to opt for a speed sharpener over 800m at Barnet tomorrow and then go for broke over 1,500m in the 'big one' at Birmingham.

He said: "The AAAs are coming quite early for me, but the final is usually quite fast and I hope I can do enough to get picked for South Korea. Hopefully things should pick up now and I'll be running some better times by August."

While Solent welcome Maclean back into the fold, another of their middle-distance men, James Parker, is opting out of the Cup match to concentrate on the AAAs.

High jumpers Dan Turner and Andy Palmer are also doubtful with hamstring niggles as is Welsh sprint international Jamie Henthorn.

On the plus side, pole vaulter Ashley Swain will be raring to go having equalled his outdoor personal best of 5.30 in Cork a fortnight ago and cleared 5.15 for Great Britain's seniors last week in Barcelona's Olympic Stadium.

Team Solent's women will be boosted in Barnet by the appearance of Commonwealth 4x400m silver medallist Melanie Purkiss, who is tackling a 200m tomorrow in the build-up to the AAAs.

Although now a specialist one-lapper, the 24-year-old is no slouch over the shorter distance and posted a season's best 23.86 at Loughborough last month.

While fully committed to helping Solent reach the Cup final for the second year running, Purkiss will be treating tomorrow as a fun day.

She said: "I want to get as many points as possible for the club, but it'll be nice not to have the pressure on before the AAAs. It's a shame I can't do the 400m, but I've kept my speed in the sprints and I'll hopefully score just as well.

"I'm in the form to go faster than I did at Loughborough but it all depends what the conditions and the competition are like. If you get a bad start in the 200m, it can all go pear-shaped."

n Team Solent's 100m specialist Jade Lucas-Read has been named in the Great Britain & Northern Ireland squad for next week's European Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

She will be joined in the team by Isle of Wight twins Kathryn and Bryony Frost in the 2,000m steeplechase and Bournemouth AC pair Charlotte Moore (800m) and Sian Scott (400m hurdles).

Eastleigh Running Club's Ian White kept his cool in soaring temperatures to win the New Forest 10-mile race.

His time of 56.03 seconds was over a minute ahead of his nearest challenger.

The hot weather made the going tough for the course, which started and finished at New Park Farm near Brockenhurst.