Olympic and world 400m champion Jeremy Wariner has announced he will begin the 2008 season by training and competing in Australia.

Wariner will join 100m world record holder Asafa Powell at the Sydney grand prix on February 16, where he will run the 200m, and in Melbourne five days later when he will run the more familiar 400m.

"I am looking forward to running in Australia in February," said the 23-year-old, who is now just four tenths of a second shy of the 400m world record set by compatriot and agent Michael Johnson in Seville in 1999.

"It will be my first time visiting the country Down Under. I'm excited about competing here for the first time as I prepare for the summer Olympics in Beijing."

Pippa Davis / Eurosport