THREE middle distance stars Jason Lobo, Amanda Parkinson and Kerry Smithson stride out for international glory this weekend, writes GEORGE KIRBY.

Described as "the rebirth of UK athletics", the BUPA AAA Championships at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium incorporate trials for the European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

First to face the starter will be the Accrington pair Parkinson and Smithson at 8.20pm tonight in the heats of the 1500m.

Both will be aiming for at least a place in tomorrow's final due off at 2.31.

Amanda Parkinson ran a great 1500m in last weekend's BUPA Games at Gateshead.

In an all-star international field she clocked a new personal best 4mins 16.6secs which is the third fastest by a British athlete this year.

Kerry Smithson ran for Great Britain in the under 23 international against France at Hexham on June 14.

Less than a week later she won the North of England 1500m championship at Wavertree, Liverpool.

And next weekend she will again wear the GB vest at Dresden in the triangular international involving Britain, France and Germany.

She has a best time this season of 4mins 2.59secs.

Jason Lobo will make his first start at 4pm tomorrow in the heats of the 800m, his principal aim being to qualify for the final, one of the highlights of the meeting, staged on Sunday at 6.46pm.

A seasoned international, Jason also excelled at the BUPA Games where he ran his fastest 800m for some time, clocking 1min 47.74secs which is the third best by a Brit this season. More significantly, he beat Andy Hart, this year's British number one, which will give him a tremendous boost for what will be probably the most critical weekend of his career. Burnley-based 400m runner Richard Clifford, who runs for Blackpool AC, will be pitched against superstars such as Roger Black and Jamie Baulch.

He won bronze at the Scottish National Championships last week, taking his personal best to 47.09 seconds.

Diane Modahl begins her bid to add another gold medal to the one she won in 1990.

The middle distance runner is determined to make up for lost time when the Commonwealth Games get underway in Kuala Lumpur this September.

Modahl was denied the opportunity of defending her 800 metres title at the last Games after being sent home from Victoria in 1994 and subsequently banned for four years after a drugs test in Portugal proved positive.

But she has always stressed her innocence and was reinstated by the International Amateur Athletic Association in 1996.

She is currently suing the British Athletic Federation for £500,000, which includes lost earnings and the appearance fees she could have demanded if she had retained her Commonwealth title in 1994.

Tonight Modahl runs in the 800 metres heats at an event which doubles as the trials for both next month's European Championships and the Commonwealth Games - the first two past the post will gain automatic selection providing they have bettered the qualifying time.

Although winning will be her ultimate aim, Modahl also knows she still has to achieve the European qualifying time of 2:01.00 which she recently narrowly missed by 0.07sec.

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