OXFORD City triple jumper Nathan Douglas is free of injury and gearing up for a massive season.

And he has vowed to get back to the sort of form that saw him qualify for the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

The 26-year-old has suffered a rash of injuries in the last two years, but still competed for Great Britain at the Beijing Games last year – although he was unable to reach the final.

But Douglas, who has now fully recovered from a nagging left hamstring injury, believes his best is yet to come, with the world championships in Berlin in August his goal.

Douglas recorded his first victory of the season at the Athletica Geneva EAP meeting in Switzerland two weeks ago with a leap of 16.52m.

But he knows he must improve if he is to harbour realistic hopes for the world championships.

He said: “I tweaked my hip two weeks before warm-weather training, so that put me about a month behind, preperation-wise.

“So going to Geneva, I didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously I was happy to win, but I would have liked to have started off with a jump over 17 metres.

“In 2007, 17 metres was average for me, but it’s been such a long while since I’ve been there regularly. When I was in Geneva, it felt like I hadn’t competed for a couple of years.

“I know I competed last year, but because I was coming back from my hamstring injury, it was a hard year. I was jumping purely for survival.

“This year, I am working on technical stuff, but it has felt weird to be on the line again without any injuries.”

Douglas has two more satellite events prior to the UK Championships and world trials, starting with another EAP meeting in Malaga next weekend.

He said: “I feel like a newbie again! My enthusiasm for the sport has been renewed.

“Hopefully I can get some things together and sort out my technique.

“I almost have to re-train my brain and body into jumping correctly and get back up to 17 metres-plus on a regular basis.

“Obviously my big aim is to qualify for the world championships.

“I have the qualifying distance from last year, but I don’t want to fall back on that. I want to prove to myself that I am capable of getting into the team based on this year’s form. It’s all about my own confidence.”

And Douglas insists that qualification alone is not his sole aim for 2009.

“I don’t want to sound selfish, but once I’ve qualified, I need to focus on the medals,” he added.

“Qualifying for major championships is not enough for me now. My goals, my ambitions are to do better and win medals.

“I’m only 26, so I have loads of time left, and have at least two more Olympics to aim for, but I know the hard work is still to come.”

Meanwhile, Douglas praised his Oxford City teammate Hannah England, who has already achieved the world qualifying standard in the 1500m.

“It’s great for Hannah, she has really come on this year,” Douglas said.“She has shown that she is hungry for success and she’s pushing for the team.”