Race walker Callum Wilkinson hopes winning the UK indoor 3,000m title can spur him to outdoor success later in the year.

Wilkinson finished fourth in the 20km walk at last year’s Commonwealth Games and aims to compete at that distance in this summer’s World Championships.

“I knew I was in the sort of shape to be able to do that,” he said.

“I’d looked at the world leading time, 11:12 I think it was, and that was kind of my goal going into the race.

“I heard the announcer say I was under the stadium record, so I thought, ‘Let’s keep the foot down,’ and it’s satisfying for me to be at the top of this list.

“To have the fastest time in the world this year over any distance is a massive achievement and shows how well training has been going,” Wilkinson told BBC Radio Suffolk.

Despite joining the UK Athletics Olympic world-class programme last year, Wilkinson is having to balance his training with a part-time job in a supermarket to help meet his living costs.

“This year everyone has been really conscious of their finances, of the cost of everything going up, and for me, that means I now work three nights a week in a supermarket, but it’s just what I have to do in order to be able to live.

“Of course, my main focus is on my training, but you’ve got to be able to put food on the table and pay my rent. These are things that apply to everyone, no matter what you do.

“There’s no point whining about it. Do your day’s work, get your training done, and make sure you’re doing everything possible to put yourself in the best position.”

The World Championships will take place in Hungary from 19-27 August, seven years after Wilkinson won world junior gold in the 10,000km walk in Poland.

“The World Championships in Budapest is the main goal. My first 20k of the year will be at the end of March in Slovakia, a very traditional and historic race,” he said.

“Moving though the year, we then have our European race walking team championships, which gives me another great opportunity to see where I’m at in my progression towards the World Championships.

“I’m very hopeful of what can come this year. I’m not worrying too much about times or positions, and my coach Rob thinks if I can stay injury-free, keep getting the work done in training, then all the rest of it will come along.

“The real competitors, when they step on the line, they’ll be ready. They don’t need to be ready a second before that. They can switch into that.”