NEWPORT’S Christian Malcolm will return to Beijing next month to coach the British sprint relay team at the athletics World Championships.

Malcolm retired 12 months ago after missing out on selection for the Wales squad for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

And, after concentrating on media and charity work for the past year as well as marrying his long-term partner Carly Isaacs in February, he is stepping up his coaching commitments.

British Athletics have confirmed that Malcolm will be coaching the 4x100m relay squads as they go for gold in Beijing from August 22 to August 30.

It will be familiar territory for the 36-year-old who finished fifth in the 200m final at the 2008 Olympics in the Chinese capital as Usain Bolt won gold in a new world record time.

Malcolm, who won silver medals in 200m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 2010 European Championships and bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, also enjoyed success on the world stage with the GB relay team.

He twice won bronze in the 4x100m at the World Championships – in Helsinki in 2005 and Osaka in 2007 – and as such has plenty of experience to pass onto the next generation of Brits.

He has also experienced the pitfalls of the relay, most notably when he and Dwain Chambers messed up a changeover at the 2012 European Championships.

“I’ve been doing the role since April and I’m enjoying it,” Malcolm told the Argus.

“It’s a bit different being on the other side of things and I’m just trying to teach the guys and the women not to make the same mistakes we did in the past!

“It will be good to be back in Beijing because it’s somewhere I have good memories of but my main focus is on the job in hand.

“We want to use these championships as a good platform for the Rio Olympics next year,” he added.

“The first thing to do is make the final and once we are there we will be in with a shot.”

The men’s 4x100m team in Beijing will be made up from Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, James Ellington, Adam Gemili, Richard Kilty, Danny Talbot and Chijindu Ujah.

The women’s 4x100m team will feature Louise Bloor, Desiree Henry, Jodie Williams, Darryll Neita, Asha Philip, Dina Asher-Smith and Bianca Williams.

British Athletics Performance Director Neil Black said: “Beijing is a hugely important event to us, yet this is the first of three huge global competitions for us, with the Olympics in Rio next year and the home World championships in 2017.

“I’m very confident we have selected a team who can be successful in Beijing, as well as use it as a platform onto further Olympic and world successes.”