Jamieson starts Beijing bid in Qatar

Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sarah Jamieson is aiming to kick-start her campaign for Olympic selection in the 1500m at the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend.

The middle distance runner must prove to national selectors in the next six weeks she has recovered sufficiently from hamstring tendonitis that she deserves a spot at the Beijing Games.

The 33-year-old has gone to great lengths to heal the complaint, having skipped competition since the World Athletics Final in Stuttgart last September.

The second-place getter in the 1500m at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games has had blood from her arm injected into her left hamstring to improve circulation and an epidural to loosen her back and hamstrings.

The Victorian has also taken on a new mentor in American college coach Ray Treacy following her disappointing result at last year's Osaka world championships where she missed the 1500m final.

"Training has been going well and I have been improving at a pleasing rate," she said.

"I have the Olympics as the end goal and everything I do is tailored towards running fast in August.

"The last couple of months have been about just getting the miles in while increasing the speed on the track.

"Doha is all about getting amongst it and having a solid hit out. The field looks strong so I will get a chance to see where I'm at.

"I know that I will improve on whatever I do here.

"It is important for me to get back into race mode."

With final Olympic selections for the Australian athletics team determined next month, Jamieson will return to the US after Doha (commencing 1am AEST Saturday) for a month of training under Treacy at Providence College in Rhode Island.

She is looking at racing at the Reebok Grand Prix (May 31) and Prefontaine Classic (June 8) before journeying to her base in Cologne, Germany, for the lucrative European season.

Meanwhile in Osaka, sprinter Patrick Johnson will be hunting down elusive A-qualifiers in the 100m and 200m to keep his Olympic dreams alive tomorrow (commencing 3pm AEST Saturday).

The men's 4x100m relay will attempt to consolidate their place in the world's top 16 and qualify for Beijing at the Osaka meet tomorrow (starting 3pm AEST Saturday).

Australia are currently sitting at No.11 but the spot is far from guaranteed with a number of quality nations biting at the team's heels.