Troy Douglas is back!

The fallout from a failed drugs test ahead of the 1999 World Championships in Seville left the former Bermuda runner broken and disillusioned. But after an exhaustive attempt to clear his name failed, amid the spate of leading athletics personalities who tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid, nandrolone, Douglas reinvented himself.

The results, as evidenced by performances since his two-year ban ended in late June, have been outstanding. And what is more, he is a bona fide 100 metres runner!

Back on the Island to celebrate his 39th birthday tomorrow, Douglas speaks of a new-found confidence that has propelled him to another level.

"The 100 metres is an event based on confidence," said Douglas, ranked No 22 in the world in the 100 and 33rd in the 200. "I've always had the confidence but not the confidence of a 100-metre runner. That's a special character . a character that's out of this world, outside of a professional boxer or one of the best strikers in the world, who have the same mentality. We take pride in our craft and really want to work hard at being the best."

To get to this point, Douglas has worked feverishly in The Netherlands, his adopted homeland, with coach Hank Kraaenhof to transform his fortunes in the 200 metres. But along the way, he came to the conclusion that he liked the 100.

"We made a huge mistake in Atlanta (1996 Olympic Games) when I ran the 400 and got to the semi-finals because it was not our expectation," he recalled. "We did not expect to go that fast or even go that far. When I got to only the quarter-finals in the 200 metres, it was a huge disappointment and at the end of the season we made a vow that we were not going to make this mistake any more because we were gradually looking at making the 200 metres my strong event.

"At the same time I did have to work on my first 60 metres of the 200 metres so we went to the 100 metres and I ran 60 metres indoors. In 1998 I ran a 6.70 and felt really confident that my 100 would get better. So when I ran 10.16 in 1999 it did not surprise me because we were working on 60 metres, 80 metres for the 200, and the 100 became one of my favourites events. It was always a favourite of mine but through the years I was always told that I didn't have what it takes to be a 100-metre runner.

"My coach and I put some heavy investment into it. I knew I was in for a breakthrough in 1999 but when I failed the doping test it set us back. People just think I did some fantastic times in the 100 this year but we've been preparing for it since 1998, '99."

The Dutch athletics federation cleared Douglas to compete again towards the end of last year but the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was adamant he see through his international ban. "I just couldn't take it no more," Douglas said. "The one thing I wanted to do in my life was taken from me. This is who I am, I am athletics and I couldn't do that.

"So I walked away from the sport and went to work with a friend of mine with tennis players on the ATP Tour. Being around guys like (Andre) Agassi and (Pete) Sampras pretty much shed some light on who I am. These are professional athletes like myself and I missed that arena.

"You're sitting on Centre Court at some of the biggest competitions in the world in tennis watching your player and saying to yourself, 'I would love to be here again'."

Douglas returned to training in The Netherlands with a view to qualifying for the Sydney Olympics but because he lacked the base training, he pulled the plug on a potential showdown with the IAAF despite placing second in the Dutch national championships.

"I ran 10.46 having started training in March and that really triggered something in me," he said, "But after my third race I knew I didn't have what it took to qualify because I'd missed the main ingredient, base training.

"The positive side of it was that I could return to training in October to build up my base so that my when my suspension was up in June I would be ready to start running 200s and 300s every day."

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