Olympic relay gold medallist Mark Lewis-Francis is convinced the Commonwealth Games will provide the opportunity to get his career back on track after a miserable past few years.

Lewis-Francis was hailed as one the world's best sprinting prospects after following his 2000 world junior 100 metres gold medal with some glittering displays against senior athletes.

A world indoor 60 metres bronze medal the following spring and a 100m semi-final place at the outdoor championships suggested the teenager was on target to fulfil his potential.

John Smith, coach to then Olympic champion and 100m world-record holder Maurice Greene, insisted Lewis-Francis was the most naturally talented sprinter he had ever seen.

After finishing runner-up to Jason Gardener in the 2002 European indoors 60m final and lowering his personal best to 10.07 seconds in the build-up to that summer's Commonwealth Games and European Championships he was tipped as favourite for both gold medals.

However, he suffered agony in the 100m final in Manchester, pulling up with a hamstring injury, and with the Commonwealths again on the horizon the 23-year-old midlander has been written off in terms of making an impact in Melbourne.

Last autumn after failing to qualify for the World Championships final the Birchfield Harrier took a momentous decision and split with long-time coach and close friend Steve Platt.

He moved to Windsor and joined up with Tony Lester, the former army sergeant whose training squad include Tim Benjamin and James McIlroy - the number one British 400 and 800 metres runners.

"I am really enjoying my training and have settled in very well with Tony and the group," said Lewis-Francis, who chose Lester rather than take up an offer to train alongside Olympic and world champion Justin Gatlin the United States.

"It is an amazing group and we all work well together. Tony is a great coach and has given me a lot of support.

"The good thing is that when you are finding a particular session tough then the whole group gets behind you and motivates you to push to the end."

A now fully-fit Lewis-Francis added: "I am very happy with my winter training so far. Preparations for the Commonwealth Games are going well and I am looking forward to it."

Last year Lewis-Francis knew his career on and off the track was in turmoil when he had his European indoor 60m medal taken away after testing positive for cannabis at the championships last March.

But he brushed aside the furore which followed and initially seemed poised to make a massive impact at the World Championships with some promising displays.

"I started with good performances in Kingston, Glasgow and the European Cup but the injury I picked up at the AAAs almost caused me to miss the World Championships," said Lewis-Francis, who was again troubled by a hamstring problem.

"Then injury destroyed my season. I was unable to train at all for two weeks after the AAAs and obviously that affected my performance in Helsinki (where he was eliminated in his 100m semi-final).

"In the end I was delighted my body held up to get a bronze medal in the relay but I had to finish the season there to allow my body to recover."

He is now determined to prove he can be a genuine medal prospect again, initially at the Commonwealths and then August's European Championships.

However, that will be no easy task with four of his likely rivals in Melbourne having reached last year's World Championships final.

And world-record holder Asafa Powell, an absentee through injury in Helsinki, heads a powerful Caribbean contingent expected to star in Australia.

"I respect all the other sprinters but at the moment I am only focused on getting myself back to my best," insisted Lewis-Francis.

"I want to run my own race and do what I can do. The opposition will be strong but I hope to be stronger through the rounds than ever before and ready to run to my best in the final.

"I was in great shape in Manchester and who knows what would have happened if my hamstring had held up?

"Sub-10 seconds was definitely on the cards in the final. I hope to make amends in Melbourne."