BOLTON athlete Chris Mulvaney is determined to make his mark on the British middle distance scene next season.

The 25-year-old is still relatively unknown despite being ranked in the top group of 1,500m runners in the country.

But he aims to put that right next season with the ultimate ambition of representing Great Britain in next summer's World Championships.

Chris of Heaton, even harbours dreams of getting among the medals at the event ranked second in stature only to the Olympic Games.

And, while that might seem out of reach for a man whose personal best is 11 seconds slower than the world record, the Bolton Harrier is no stranger to winning races.

He was one of the best known and most feared middle distance runners on the ultra competitive American college circuit for four years.

The Bolton flyer won the US National College Championships twice and was second three times, and has triumphed in Grand Prix events in Holland, Belgium and Canada. His biggest achievement at home came in 2004 when he beat all the best British 1,500m stars to take the AAAs title.

While Chris remains something of a stranger to athletics fans, he is well known and highly respected among his fellow top British middle distance runners, who regard him as a constant threat in races because of his strength and blistering finishing speed.

Chris, who was born in Bolton and moved back to the town a few years ago after spending his formative years in Cumbria, knows he will have to produce the goods in big domestic or televised races if he is to raise his profile.

He was hoping he would do that last season but one injury after another ruled him out of competition from January through to the end of August when he returned to beat Bolton's 2002 Commonwealth Games 3,000m steeplechase fourth placer, Stuart Stokes, in a club race.

He has many admirers among coaches and former athletes as well. Former British long distance star, Brendan Foster, has spoken in glowing terms of Chris's huge potential while the coach of Ethiopian legend, Haile Gebreselassie, believes he has as much raw power as any middle distance runner in the world.

His coach at Arkansas University told the American press four years ago that Chris had the talent to run three minutes and 32 seconds for the 1,500m - and that is the kind of time which would almost certainly win any major championships or high profile meeting in the world.

Chris's personal best is 3:37 and he knows he has to bring that down if he to burst on to the scene in a big way next season.

He believes he will. He said: "I think I can get my time down to 3:32 or 3:33 next year. I have won a lot of races but I know I've got to get my times down now.

"It's been a frustrating season for me. I was hoping to do well but I got injured in January and that was followed by another injury and another and I missed the whole season.

"They're behind me now and I'm working hard for next season. Training's going well. I'm doing two sessions a day, speed work and weights in the morning and a 12-mile run at night, and I'm enjoying it after not being able to run for so long.

"Everything is geared towards qualifying for the World Championships and then doing well at the Worlds.

"I believe I'm capable of doing it. If I didn't believe I could be a top runner I would pack it in tomorrow.

"People say I've got a fast finish and I've won a lot of races against people with faster times than me because of my finish.

"I'm working on getting my times down so I can get in a good position in big races and then use my finish. I think I've still got a lot to prove to people over here. I'm probably better known in America than here because I've won a lot of races over there.

"Since I've been back I've been frustrated by injury but that's all behind me and, if I can stay healthy, I can show what I can do."