Colchester race walker Dominic King says he is feeling in tip top form as the countdown to this summer’s World Championships continues.

The two-time Great Britain Olympian continued his warm-up to the Championships with a top-50 finish in the 20 kilometre race, at the European Race Walking Cup.

Colchester Harriers member King clocked a time of one hour 29 minutes 28 seconds in a field of Europe’s finest race walkers at the event, staged in the Czech Republic.

And as he continues his preparation for the men’s 50k race walk at London’s biggest sporting event since the 2012 Olympic Games, the 33-year-old says he is feeling upbeat.

King told the Daily Gazette: “Every time that you go into a championship, you use the experience you have from previous competitions.

“I think I’m more relaxed and more confident in my ability.

“I know my strengths and what I need to work at and I’ll keep working hard and training hard and working on the technical aspects.

King finished 47th at the European Race Walking Cup, which was held on a park course in the spa town of Podebrady, 50 kilometres east of Prague.

It was his seventh European Race Walking Cup, a new Great Britain record.

“From a personal point of view, I was a little disappointed with my time,” said King, who celebrates his 34th birthday next Tuesday.

“But what I have to remember is that it’s a short event and my performance is for 50k, so the experience was very positive.

“I have the ambition and drive to improve my time, which is why I was a little disappointed with it in the end.

“I had two warnings last weekend, which isn’t ideal.

“But I’ve stepped down to 20k to develop my speed and I think I’m doing that.”

King competed for British Athletics who finished fourth in Czech Republic, five points off third-placed Ireland.

He said: “From a team point of view, it was our best-ever performance in the European Cup and that was really positive.

“We’d have ideally liked to have finished in the top three but the important thing is to compete.

“Two people stepped up from the junior squad to the seniors and did really well.

“We narrowly missed out on a medal and it goes to show how much the team has improved and how much race walking has developed in this country.

“There’s a race walking centre based in Leeds and that is helping with the development, because they’re pushing each other on.

“That brings a greater competition and that hasn’t always been the case, over the years.

“There are more people challenging each other now and it’s a good, close-knit team.

“The women’s team also did well and finished 16th and I don’t think they’ve ever finished so highly.

“I think the next thing would be to see GB have someone else in the 50k, other than myself.”

King will once again attend altitude training before the World Championships, replicating his preparations for last year’s Rio Olympics.

He will spend more than a month in the south of France, where he was based last year in the build-up to Rio.

King added: “It will be good to get back there and focus on training, without the pressures of work.

“Having that time of to do that last year really helped me and hopefully, it’ll be the same again this time around.

“I didn’t get the result in Rio that I wanted but fitness-wise, I was the best I’ve been and I’m feeling the same again.”

Prior to that, King will take part in the Gran Premio Cantones de La Coruña, on June 3.