By David Martin, PA Sport

Commonwealth 400 metres hurdles champion Chris Rawlinson admits the World Championships in Paris will be a challenge like no other.

The 31-year-old Yorkshireman has been competing on the international stage for six years and cannot wait to test himself against the world's best.

"This isn't Manchester - it's the toughest championships there is apart from the Olympic Games and getting any kind of medal is going to be hard work," Rawlinson said.

Rawlinson has known tougher tests of characer still, however.

He wore the green beret of the Royal Marines and fought in the first Gulf War.

He believes his military service were years well spent, collecting confidence before embarking on his sporting career.

Now he he is hoping everything will bear fruit later this month in the frenzied atmosphere of the Stade de France.

"Atmosphere there - tell me about it!," said Rawlinson, who stormed to a fifth-successive AAA title last month and knows the Paris venue extremely well.

The French stadium has happy memories for the Trafford athlete. In its last two IAAF Golden League meetings, Rawlinson has finished second on both occasions.

The honest Tyke knows however it will take a superhuman effort to defeat defending world champion Felix Sanchez, unbeaten in over 20 successive 400m hurdles races.

"As good as Sanchez is, I will be going out believing I can beat him," said Rawlinson, fifth when the Dominican Republic star won two years ago in Edmonton.

"Realistically though, you have to admire how tough he is and wonder how to fetch him down.

"I've tried every way possible, even by starting in the tight second lane, hoping I could get into his slipstream.

"But Felix is in a class of his own at the moment. It's a case of just battling away and I can only hope in Paris he will prove he is not superhuman."

Rawlinson demonstrated his superiority in his own continent at least by winning his second European Cup final title in June, but life has not been a bed of roses for him this year.

"I had a couple of below-par races in early season," said the Rotherham Rocket.

"But then after finishing last in (a Super Grand Prix meeting in) Ostrava, which really hurt my pride, I had take-off.

"I couldn't understand why I was running so poorly because on the training track everything was going like clockwork," said Rawlinson, who is trained by Nick Dakin at Loughborough's High Performance Centre.

"The EuroCup win was a turning point. Now I'm in great shape and believe I can nick a medal.

"No matter how long you have been around, life is still a learning process and I'm still intent on finding the perfect curve.

"This year I've cut back on my racing programme, which has definitely helped.

"I feel much better for it and hopefully quality will prove itself over quantity, which has been one of my faults in the past.

"Before the World Championship trials in Birmingham, I spent a couple of weeks in Barcelona and I'll be basing myself there again before Paris."

But knowing a global medal is finally within his grasp, Rawlinson said: "There'll be no excuses if I don't come back with something this time.

"It will not be for the lack of trying. This year, apart from the initial hiccup, I reckon I've done everything - if not by the book - the best way possible."