Tre Houston will remain in Bermuda for the rest of the month before heading to Florida to continue his preparations for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia, in April.

The sprinter dusted off the cobwebs with two 60 metres sprints at a track meet involving the University of Western Ontario at the National Stadium last weekend.

Houston set the second-fastest time of 7.02sec in his heat before beating fastest qualifier Matthew Chan (7.01) in the final in 6.90. Chan finished in 7.08 and local athlete Stephan Dill came third in 7.09. Bermudian teenagers Deneo Brangman, Lejuan Matthews and Mical Dill finished fourth, fifth and sixth.

Houston was not tempted to race in the 300 later on, deciding not to push it too much in his first outing of the year.

“I’m not ready for that right now,” said Houston, who will run the 100 and 200 Down Under. “My coach just wanted me to run through this meet to see what type of shape I’m in.

“This was my first day in blocks today and I felt all right.

“It’s early this year for the Commonwealths and I’m not used to getting ready so early for a major competition.

“I spoke to my coach today and he said, ‘I think you should run’.

“I don’t argue with him; it’s his word and I just go with it. It was just a run to get confidence.”

Houston will be based in Clairmont, Florida, before the Commonwealth Games, where he has vowed to reach the finals.

“I’m going to make the finals,” said Houston, who represented Bermuda at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

“I’m getting older, 27 now, so I need to make an impact. I’ve made major finals as a junior, but now I want to do it as a senior.

“I’ve showed that I can run quick, but it is on the day that matters.

“I ran 6.5 today and if I don’t run that at a major competition, then it’s a waste.

“It’s the same as when people play football; you can score all those Premier League goals, but if you don’t do anything at the World Cup then you can’t be judged as one of the greatest.

“That’s exactly why [Usain] Bolt is the greatest; he shows up when it matters.”

Houston, who competed at the previous Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, is planning for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo to be his swansong. He will then start looking for a “real” job.

“2020 and then that’s it,” he said. “I’m going to start my career after that.”