THE area's two outstanding 400 metres prospects will be stepping down a distance at this weekend's Hampshire AA Track & Field Championships at Portsmouth's Mountbatten Centre.

Commonwealth Games relay silver medallist Melanie Purkiss and her training partner, Robert Tobin, will launch their outdoor seasons with sprint sharpeners over 100 and 200 metres.

While 24-year-old Purkiss has had a trouble-free winter following her glorious arrival as a top grade one-lapper in Manchester last summer, Basingstoke & Mid Hants teenager Tobin has had a slight recurrence of the hamstring injury that wrecked his World Junior Championship hopes in Jamaica last July.

But Todd Bennett, who coaches both young talents in Southampton, is confident that 19-year-old Tobin is over the worst of his troubles.

Although his time of 47.70 seconds was no great shakes last weekend, he proved his fitness by coming safely through three rounds of competition at the British Universities Championships at Bedford, where he came home third behind James Chatt of Loughborough.

Bennett reported: "Robert wintered well, but five weeks ago he picked up a slight niggle with his hamstring when we brought speed into the equation. It would have worried me if it had bothered him last weekend but he ran through three rounds with no problem.

"He got a bit carried away in the BUSA final and went out as if he was going to run a low 45 only to find he wasn't ready for that and he died a death towards the end."

While Tobin has his sights fixed on July's (17-20) European Under-23 Championships in Poland, Otterbourne-based Purkiss must concentrate on cementing her place on the fringes of Britain's one-lap elite.

A Commonwealth silver in her first serious season as a 400m runner was a dream come true for the Team Solent talent, who had made her name in the junior ranks over the shorter sprint events.

With a personal best of 52.99 seconds, Purkiss still has some work to do to challenge the likes of Olympic bronze medallist Katharine Merry and Commonwealth silver medallist Lee McConnell among Britain's best. But she is going the right way about it and has benefited from three weeks' warm-weather training at the Cyprus holding camp for next year's Olympic Games in Athens.

Bennett said: "Mel's looking on a par, if not better, than this time last year. First and foremost she now believes in herself as a 400m runner. Obviously it would be foolish to say she's going to be number one because she's still some way behind the top girls, but it's up to Mel to close that gap."

Isle of Wight strongman Andy Frost easily won BUSA gold in the hammer. His winning throw of 63.37 was almost 11 metres clear of his closest rival.

The Hampshire Championships, which start at 10am tomorrow, have attracted 720 athletes - the highest number for at least five years.