"BACK in business" was the message from Christian Malcolm after he ran his fastest-time outside a major championships.

Yesterday's season's best 20.29 sec to take third place in the AAA championships 200m is significant with Newport's Malcolm just starting to hit form with the Commonwealth Games just 10 days away.

With Marshfield-based Darren Campbell taking second in 20.26 sec behind winner Marlon Devonish's time of 20.18 sec, Malcolm now has to wait to see if the British selectors choose him in one of the three 200m places for next month's European Championships.

Dwain Chambers has run faster than Malcolm over 200m this season, but the selectors are likely to select Chambers for just the 100m to allow Malcolm to race.

Having taken fourth place in Saturday's 100m final, which he said he was racing "just for fun", Malcolm was happy with his championship performance at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium.

He said: "It would have been nice to have come in the top two places and guaranteed my place in Munich.

"It's a tough call and it's down to the selectors. I've got to put it at the back of my mind.

"I'm about 90% ready now, but I'm feeling better and better and there is more to come." It was also a happy night for housemates Marlon Devonish and Tim Benjamin.

After Devonish took the 200m, Cardiff's Benjamin took the 400m title with a personal best run of 45.73 sec.

In his first season as a senior, Benjamin said: "I knew I would win, I never had a doubt.

"There are some good athletes out there, but I knew I could beat them.

"Only Daniel Caines can beat me (among the British sprinters) and I'm delighted to be going to Munich in my own right."

Jamie Baulch showed signs that he could be among the medals in Manchester after finishing fifth in a time of 46.42 sec.

Matt Elias took third in 49.79 sec in the men's 400m hurdles behind Chris Rawlinson (48.68 sec) and Anthony Borsumato, who ran his second personal best in a week.

Fellow Cardiff AC runner Christian Stephenson finished second in the men's 3,000m steeplechase in 8 min 44.31 sec.

In the 5,000m Cardiff's Andres Jones ran a season's best 14 min 3.56 sec to finish eighth behind defending champion John Wild who set a personal best of 13 min 52.59 sec.

Newport-based Tim Thomas finished sixth in the pole vault - one of six athletes who cleared 5m exactly.

Trafford's Susan Jones won the high jump with a season's best 1.92m while a relieved Jade Johnson won her first senior title with a jump of 6.52m.

Johnson, 22, is one of the stars of the GB Under-23 team which takes on Germany at Newport Stadium on Saturday.

Perhaps the most fruitful throw of the day was Kelly Morgan's javelin flight that cleared 63.87m - setting a new national record and earning her a brand new Rover.

Welsh record holder Steve Shalders finished third with a triple jump of 16.09m behind England's Phillips Idowu's 17.02m.