Tom Lancashire can justifiably lay claim to the moniker “the fastest man in America”, which makes you wonder why his name has laymen in his native Bolton scratching their heads. The 22-year-old wears a senior Great Britain vest for the first time this weekend in the European Cup after whetting the appetite of those with nostalgic yearnings for middle-distance Midas men.

It was earlier this month when Lancashire, back from Florida State University, won the 1,500 metres at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo. He clipped 3 seconds off his personal best to record an Olympic qualifying time of 3min 35.33sec, meaning that, aside from Bernard Lagat, who represented Kenya at the last Olympics but will run for the United States this time, Lancashire is faster than any other American this year.

The cynics might say that it is because the drugs do not work when it comes to distance races in the US. The Balco scandal and FBI investigations ensnared a cell of sprinters and demeaned a string of achievements, but the country has struggled to produce quality athletes at the longer distances through fair or foul means. Nevertheless, Lancashire, whose improvement is more exciting than his performance, says that America can still be the promised land for young Britons.

“There's no doubt the collegiate system breeds that competitive edge,” Lancashire said. “In Britain, one of the problems is people settle for being the best in the country when you have to be pushing to compete globally. Maybe, in America, they have that belief that they can take on the best in the world rather than just getting into good positions in the national championships.”

A glut of promising Britons will join American colleges on sports scholarships this autumn, while one of Lancashire's team-mates in Annecy, France, for the competition that starts tomorrow is Tyrone Edgar, a sprinter trained Stateside by Darrell Smith, nephew of John Smith, Maurice Greene's former coach.

One theory is that the collegiate system provides a testing ground for young talent and bridges the gap between the junior and senior ranks more effectively than British clubs. However, many maintain that American colleges overtrain athletes. “You have to be careful where you choose,” Lancashire, who will return to Florida for one more term after the Olympics, said. “A lot of places look attractive, but it doesn't work out because the coach is not on the same wavelength.

“People have fallen by the wayside because they've not been assertive enough. Those are the horror stories you hear of and people form a bad impression of the American system.”

Two years ago, Lancashire, now hoping to make it to Beijing, shattered a 20-year-old Florida State record for the 800metres with a time that was close to Sebastian Coe's best at the same age. The future looked bright, but he had not made the expected strides until Oslo. “I knew a good time was there because my PB was from three years back, but, for whatever reason, it's never happened,” he said. “Oslo was a big breakthrough.”

The ghosts of Coe, Cram and Ovett are motivators, he says, rather than burdens. “The whole time I've been coming through, it's been a case of, ‘This is one of worst times for middle-distance running in Britain,'” he said. “It's a major spur for me to try to correct that and have an impact on the international stage.”

On that heady night in Oslo, Andy Baddeley, the star turn for Britain this year, won the Dream Mile in a time that took him to sixth on the UK all-time list. Baddeley runs the 3,000metres in Annecy, but is eyeing the 1,500metres Olympic final and even more. Talk of a revival may be premature, but middle-distance running in Britain is clearly not dead yet.

Edgar, 26, believes that he, too, is reaping the benefits from his time in America. His time of 10.06sec for the 100metres last month suggests that he may be peaking at the right time and he is confident Britain can land a medal in the 4x100metres relay in Beijing. “The buzz from the last Olympics and the World Championships is still going on with the relay,” he said. “We always feel we can do well.”

Edgar appeared unflustered by the impact of the Trevor Graham trial on his camp. His coach's uncle, John Smith, was dragged into the row when a letter allegedly written by Ato Boldon, the former sprinter, accused him and Greene, the former Olympic champion, of lying about competing clean. “Nothing worries me, apart from how I'm doing,” Edgar said. “I really don't care about all that.” He said he had benefited from advice from Greene and Boldon during his time in the US.