By David Martin, PA Sport

Having proved himself the master of British 400metres running with a dominating victory in the recent world trials, Daniel Caines is now putting together his game plan for Paris.

It will be the midlander's first outdoor World Championships, although he announced his arrival on the international stage by winning the 2001 IAAF indoor title.

But he lost his title in March this year on home soil in Birmingham when former long jumper Tyree Washington clocked a time of 45.34 seconds - the world's fastest for five years indoors.

Washington's performance was an eye-opener for Caines, 24.

The start of the summer season confirmed Washington's threat as he took the domestic title at the US trials with ease, claiming the fastest time in the world for two years since he himself ran 44.28secs.

Washington had been favourite to claim the world outdoor title in Edmonton two years ago but a serious hamstring injury scuppered his hopes and came close to ending his career.

However, a traumatic period in his life provided Washington with the impetus to put his career back on track.

After testifying against his sister - found guilty in a murder case - Washington took stock of his life and returned to competitive action at the beginning of this year.

Since then his form has been phenomenal.

After his victory at the national trials, Washington popped over to Europe for two races in Italy where he displayed his awesome form in Padua and Rome.

A jetlagged 45.18secs win in Padua was bettered with a super-fast success of 44.42secs in the Italian capital.

Despite Washington's superb record this year, Caines believes he is moving into top gear for the championships.

After his trials win his first of the summer, Caines said: "Everything seems to be coming together and I'm building in confidence with every race. "I haven't run as fast as I want to run, but my aim is to do that in Paris. I want to get race fit and race sharp."

Asked what colour medal he expects to collect, Caines said: "I'm not giving anything away about that. Once you get into the final then you can start talking about medals - but until then I'm not saying a word."