Joel Kidger is determined to make up for lost time after proving he is back to his best at the Sussex Track and Field Championships.

Kidger suffered a nightmare 2005 as his dream of qualifying for his second Commonwealth Games was wrecked by a mystery illness.

The Crawley star failed to recreate the kind of form which had earned him a place at the 2002 Games in Manchester and only discovered the reason when the season came to an end.

He was diagnosed as suffering from glandular fever but showed he is over the illness by storming to victory in both the 800m and 1,500m at Crawley's K2 Centre at the weekend.

Kidger said: "The virus was in my system all year but it was not active so it was hard to detect until I had some blood tests to investigate why I was feeling so lethargic.

"It was a relief to discover that something had been wrong with me because it explained why I had such a disappointing season last year rather than having to accept that I was just not good enough.

"I didn't know what was happening because I would prepare for the races in the same way but when I got to the starting line there was something missing.

"Last season was a real downer because I was confident of making the England team for the Commonwealths again but when I got to the trials it fell apart. Now I realise it was the virus affecting me."

Kidger cruised to victory in the 800m in the absence of reigning champion Tim Bayley in a modest Back on track time of 1min.53.72sec but was given a good test in the 1,500m by Hailsham's Ben Warren before crossing the line in 3min.46.1sec.

He will hope to improve on those times at the British Milers Club Nike Grand Prix at Loughborough this weekend as he prepares for a shot at the European Championships in August. To qualify he would need to shave a second off his personal best of 1min.47sec and finish in the top two at the trials in Manchester in July.

Kidger added: "I'm feeling back to normal now so I am looking forward to a good season.

"The European Championships have got to be the main goal and although the qualifying time is tough I think it is achievable.

"I was running really well the season before I fell ill so I just need to get back to that kind of form again."

Kidger's performance at Crawley was put in the shade slightly by Bayley's exploits across the Atlantic at the weekend.

The 23-year-old from Brighton, who is studying at Iona University, won the 800m at the prestigious ICAAAA Championships in Princeton in a new personal best of 1min.48.28sec.

It moves Bayley up two places on the Sussex all-time list to fourth place behind Steve Ovett, Chris Carter and Kidger and puts him third in the UK this season.