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Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu showed she is over the niggles that have hampered her season so far, and banished her demons of having to miss last years European Championships in Barcelona by competing in the Spanish city and coming away with a 51.49 victory in the 400m.

Ohuruogu, the 2007 world champion, has struggled to get back to her best after a quad injury cut short her 2010 season. After some solid early-season runs in the USA, Ohuruogu took another step back at the Great Manchester City Games and was well off the pace.

She did not race again until nine days ago, when she lined up for a low-key 400m in a mixed race at the Watford Open, clocking 53.80. In a race against time for fitness ahead of next months World Championships, there was much more at stake tonight at the Barcelona International Meeting as she faced an international field that included two of her British team-mates  Nicola Sanders and Lee McConnell.

Showing little sign of being race rusty, Ohuruogu clocked a seasons best of 51.49 to defeat European under-23 champion Olga Topilskaya (51.68). McConnell and Sanders also dipped under 52 seconds with times of 51.70 and 51.94, also a seasons best for the latter.