Australia's best 400m hurdler Lauren Wells has taken another leap towards next month's world championships, opening her European season with a third-place finish at a Diamond League meet in Lausanne.
Wells claimed the podium place on Thursday in 56.25 seconds - her third-fastest effort this year - behind Danish winner Sara Petersen (55.01).
It was a step in the right direction for the 26-year-old eight-time Australian champion, who is aiming to break into the top eight at the Beijing world titles as a springboard for next year's Rio Olympics.
She had planned to continue training in Canberra until August, but made the decision to get some races against Europe's high-quality competition under her belt before then.
In other Australian action, Commonwealth Games champion Dani Samuels threw 64.59m in the discus to finish just outside the top three, Hamish Peacock came eighth in the men's javelin and Genevieve LaCaze ran 9:43.17 in the women's 3000m steeplechase.
Wells will next compete at a meeting in Luzern next weekend, where she'll be joined by Collis Birmingham (3000m), Brett Robinson (3000m) and Alana Boyd (pole vault).
