AUSTRALIAN Olympic 5000m representative Collis Birmingham, one of the top non-African finishers in this year"s IAAF World Cross-Country Championships in Amman, Jordan, will return to Scotland in a bid to make it three successive victories over 1500m at the Scottish National Championships, supported by McCain, at Pitreavie Athletics Centre in Dunfermline on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st June.

Birmingham, who has raced to personal bests over 1500m, one mile, 5000m and 10,000m in 2009, has been victorious in the past two editions of the Scottish Championships, winning in 2008 in 3:47.25 ahead of Chris MacKay (Inverclyde) in 3:48.49 and Ali Hay (Central AC) in 3:50.46.

He clocked a new 1500m best of 3:37.01 earlier this year, while in April he recorded an impressive 27:29.73 for 10,000m at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley, California, erasing the Australian and Oceania record of 27:31.92 set by Shaun Creighton more than 12 years ago.

The event, hosted by Fife Council and with TV highlights on Channel 4, will be held at Pitreavie for the second time.

A total prize purse of £6800 is on offer, with prizes for the first, second and third-placed finalist in every event.

Race winners will earn £100 (plus gold medal awards and £25 for scottishathletics member coaches) while there will be £50 and £25 for second and third-place finishers.

Councillor Brian Goodall, chair of the housing and communities committee for Fife Council, said, 'Fife Council is pleased to be supporting the 2009 Scottish National Championships at Pitreavie Athletics Centre and is looking forward to working with scottishathletics and the Fife Sport & Leisure Trust to deliver what I"m sure will be a very successful event.

'As well as the national championships themselves as round two of the inaugural scottishathletics Gold League and part of the McCain UK Challenge, the "Fife"s Fastest Kid" competition with qualifying rounds in schools and clubs leading up to the finals on the Sunday will provide us with a great opportunity to work with a number of local partners to introduce more young people in Fife to athletics.

'We hope to encourage them to stay involved with the sport in the longer term and join one of the athletics clubs in our region.' And he added, 'It"s also good news that we can bring a national event of this calibre to Fife once again, particularly now, thanks to a £2.5 million investment from the council and sportscotland, that we have a world-class training and competition facility here in Dunfermline.

'We hope the Channel 4 highlights will show off this wonderful facility at its very best.' Collis Birmingham said, 'It would be great to kick off my championships summer with a third successive victory over 1500m in the Scottish National Championships.

'I know that the guys who followed me home in second and third last year are in the form of their lives right now, posting sub-four minute miles recently, so I hope I can do myself justice and pull us all to quick times in Dunfermline.' The entry closing date for the Scottish National Championships is Monday.

Downloadable forms and phone entry (0131 539 7320) are available but athletes can enter more cheaply online through the scottishathletics website at www.scottishathletics.org.uk