Don on for London Triathlon

The 31-year old Londoner won the race two years ago and is keen to repeat the feat this time round. He spoke to The Wharf about it from his training camp in Switzerland.

He said: "I'm definitely hoping to win it again. It's a great event, always very well organised, and it's not often you get the chance to compete in something this good in your own backyard.

"My form's been pretty good this year. I had a torn calf muscle at the start of the season but that's behind me now and I'm in good shape.

"I've been training at altitude in St Moritz and apart from needing more oxygen it's been going very well. It's like a who's who of international athletes here with guys like Mo Farah and the Australian professional cycling team. It certainly gives you a buzz."

Don's London chances have been improved by the news that a number of other elite triathletes will not be on the starting line, preferring to concentrate on the World Series race in Hyde Park two weeks later.

"The haven't finalised the start list yet but I do know that some of the top guys are missing the London triathlon to focus on the Hyde Park one," said Don.

"I'm doing Hyde Park as well. It's on the 2012 Olympic triathlon route so it will be good practice for that."

The world championship is being decided through a different format this year, with a series of ranking events over the year, including the one in Hyde Park. Don, who won the world title in its one-off race format in 2006, is entirely is not entirely in favour of the change.

He said: "It will reward the most consistent athlete but it's not very good preparation for one-off races like the Olympics. Guys are now training for consistency rather than reaching a peak for exceptional races.

"It does mean the top younger guys in the sport are now competing week-in, week-out, whereas older guys like myself are being more selective about our events, but at the end of the day you have to be able to produce the performance when it matters on the big occasions."

Don's own big occasion is the 2012 Olympics. His best Olympic result was 10th place in Sydney in 2000, while he failed to finish in Beijing last year because of illness. He is determined to be in the medal reckoning in three years time, even though he will be 34.

He said: "I'm definitely aiming for London 2012. I'd love to be there and be a contender. But, as they say, I'm just taking each race as it comes and there is still a long way to go but as long as the training continues to go okay and I'm fit then I'll be there."

The Mazda London Triathlon is on August 1-2. Visit the londontriathlon.co.uk for details.