Wolverhampton & Bilston AC's Miguel Francis is on his marks for a run at a GB return

The Wolverhampton & Bilston AC athlete is competing in the 100m in Manchester on Saturday.

The heats start at 11:30am, the semi-finals are due to commence at 5:05pm, and the final is set to take place at 7:22pm.

Francis has twice competed at the World Championships, but was forced to withdraw from the 200m semi-finals in Doha due to injury back in 2019.

His funding was stopped by UK Athletics in 2021. The top two in the final will automatically be guaranteed a place as long as qualifying time is achieved, and then a third discretionary place will be selected by a panel if once again the qualifying time is met.

His funding has been cut for the current year by British Athletics, but Francis insists that the trials and tribulations which he has faced will help him grow stronger.

"This year, my sole focus is to make the team. Whether it's in the 100m or 200m as an individual, or making it solely for the relay, or for both," Francis reveals.

"My goal is to make the team for Budapest, and get back to being a professional again. My funding has been cut, which happens when you're not able to perform to the standards they set out for you.

"Injuries have caused me not to be able to perform. I have no issues or doubts in my ability to perform when I am fit. But it did make it very hard for me, and there were many times when I thought about stopping.

"But God puts us through these things in life. We set out on these trials and it's all to make us stronger. It's how you persevere and prevail because in the end, you look back, and think, 'I was at such a low point wanting to stop and I made it in the end'.

"That's extra motivation for you to keep going. You can't let one injury, niggle, or setback make you stop. You can't ever want to give up, you always have to persevere."

Francis carried a serious injury into the UK Athletics Outdoors Championships last year but was still able to reach the final.

He jetted over from his training camp in Antigua two weeks ago, and made his seasonal debut in Nuneaton on June 24 with a 10.26/3.1 in the 100m.

The 28-year-old is confident that he has finally got his injury problems under control, and has attributed major changes to his training regime as a key factor behind his recovery.

"I've made a few major changes to my training. I'm training more technically now, and focusing on strengthening a lot of my weak points in the gym, in the pool, and by doing cross country training," Francis adds.

"I believe I have finally cracked down on my injury problems, and I just hope I can keep in this state physically."

Francis, who previously trained with Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, has also set the 2024 Paris Olympics as his long-term goal.

He was deprived of the opportunity to compete at Rio 2016 due to injury, and wants to crown his comeback on the biggest stage of all.

"That is the big goal. I went to the Olympics in 2016 and I was unfortunate to get an injury," Francis says.

"I tore my hamstring three days before I competed, and I haven't made any Olympics teams since.

"The Olympics is the pinnacle of competition for any athlete so I'm definitely working hard to make the Olympics team next year."