WORLD sprint relay bronze medallist Doug Walker rekindled an old competitive flame when he beat Elliot Bunney for the first time over 100 metres to take the East District championship title at Meadowbank.

Scotland's most prolific sprint title-winner - 23 at all levels - retired after the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria and switched to rugby, but Bunney confirmed last night that he is back on track, and hopes to qualify for a fourth successive Commonwealth Games this summer, in Kuala Lumpur.

At 31, he is five years younger than Linford Christie when he retired, and could yet recapture some of the form that made him Europe's fastest junior and helped Britain to Olympic relay silver 10 years ago. With Walker and Ian Mackie now genuinely world class, a Scotland quartet may have a realistic medal shot in Malaysia.

Bunney, who finished in 11.0secs to Walker's 10.9 on Saturday, revealed he has been training with his rival for the past six months. Walker, like Bunney, also gave up playing rugby on the wing with Heriot's.

''I wasn't enjoying it,'' said Bunney. ''I suppose I have to admit I'm having a go for the Games, if I'm being honest. It has been indicated that, if everyone is committed, and prepared to practice, then there is the chance of a sprint relay squad going to Malaysia.''

Bunney won the British professional 90 metres champion-ship last summer at Perth, and had run a couple of races for his club, ''but this was my first serious outdoor race since Canada in 1994,'' he said. ''I was a full-time athlete then. Now I am married and work full-time. Obviously it is going to be a tall order.''

Bunney won Olympic silver in the 4 x 100m relay in Seoul, and Commonwealth bronze for Scotland 12 years ago in Edinburgh with Cameron Sharp, Jamie Henderson, and George McCallum. In the individual 100m at those same Games, he finished fifth behind the Canadian, Ben Johnson, later to be exposed as a drugs cheat, and Christie.

Still joint-third quickest Scot for the distance, behind Allan Wells and Mackie, at 10.20sec, he will have to log 10.40 or better if he wishes to claim an individual berth.

Bunney proved he has lost none of his explosive speed from the blocks, heading World 200 metres semi-finallist Walker for 50 metres, but his clubmate, who felt a muscle twinge in his groin at 40 metres, had to work hard to catch Bunney and hold on, as his pained expression told. The tenth that separated them was problematic - the lack of properly functioning electronic timing in such a crucial season was disappointing.

Walker, who won World relay bronze with Britain last year in Athens, is likely to be out for a few days, but Bunney will run for City of Edinburgh in the British league next weekend at Watford. Ian Horsburgh, a third member of the training group that works under Davie Gibson, won the 200 and 400m.

Steff Hayward was in excellent form on the second day of the championships yesterday, reaching 17.98 metres in the shot, just five centimetres outside his championship best, but 52cms short of what the Commonwealth selectors are looking for. Lorna Jackson moved to within less than a metre of the javelin guideline when she won with 54.30m.

Women produced most of the encouraging performances in the West event at Scotstoun, where Lee McConnell and Aileen McGillivary set notable championship records.

British Universities champion McConnell leapt 1.82 metres, a lifetime best that took the Loughborough student from twelfth to fifth on the Scottish all-time high jump list and into Games contention. City of Glasgow's Gillian Black, overlooked by Britain's age-group selectors for the match against Loughborough next weekend, gave the perfect riposte, taking the under-20 title with 1.78m, UK best under-18 this year.

Sprinter McGillivary, making her debut over 400m, clocked 53.95 which ranks fifteenth on Scotland's all-time list, but she walked off vowing: ''Never again - I've no intention of taking up this event seriously. I'm only doing it to help hold my form in the final 50 metres of the 200.''

Sure enough, the lesson appeared well learned as she completed the double yesterday, taking the shorter event in 24.3. However, with Alison Curbishley and Mel Neef being world-class performers at the 400m, McGillivary could find herself enlisted in a 4 x 400m squad with Commonwealth medal potential.

Grant Graham, training under Tom McKean's former mentor, Tom Boyle, at Motherwell, won the 800 metres in an encouraging 1min 51.00secs, and Glen Stewart ran a creditable solo 5000m in 14-03.34. The only men's senior championship mark to come under threat, however, was in the 110m hurdles, which Martin Hendry equalled with 14.58sec.

Most prolific title-winner at Scotstoun was Airdrie's Derek McShannock, who took three under-13 titles, posting championship bests in the 100m and shot putt.

Junior heavies Graeme Allan and Scot Thompson had a furious battle in the North championships at Queen's Park, Inverness. Each won two titles, with Elgin's Allan scoring two championship records to Thompson's one.

Allan reached a championship best of 15.09m in the shot, edging Thompson by just four centimetres, then took the javelin by 31cms, in another record, 49.19m. Nairn's Thompson replied with wins in the discus (47.80m) and hammer, the latter with a new championship mark of 55.84m. Dave Barnetson took the high jump with a modest 2.00m.

q Scottish 50k road running championship (Glenrothes):

1, T Mitchell (Fife) 3hr 3min 46sec; 2, P Morrison (FMC Carnegie) 3-15-15; 3, S Lund (Quaker) 3-21-40. Veteran: I Brown (Pitreavie) 3-26-12. Women: 1, C Cadger (Perth Strathtay) 3-59-41; 2, I Wilson (Strathaven) 4-28-47; 3, P Walker (FMC Carnegie) 4-35-23.

q British 100k road running championship (Greenwich):

1, S Moore (England) 6-57-32; 2, W Sichel (Moray) 7-26-33; 3, B Davidson (Plymouth) 7-42-57. Other Scots: 4, D Ritchie (Moray) 7-51-56; 10, N Williamson (Kwik-Fit Corstorphine) 8-25-36; 18, A Stott (Sri Chinmoy) 9-15-55. Team: 1, England; 2, Scotland.